# Merriweather font

> A screen text serif with a very large x-height and sturdy serifs, variable in weight, width and optical size.

Merriweather is a serif text family by Eben Sorkin of Sorkin Type, designed to be pleasant to read on screens. Merriweather is a variable font with three axes, weight from 300 to 900, width from 87 to 112 and optical size from 18 to 144, in seven weights with italics. It is licensed under the SIL Open Font License 1.1.

## Facts

- Classification: [Serif](https://trendhub.net/fonts/category/serif)
- Designed by: Sorkin Type
- License: SIL Open Font License 1.1 (https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/)
- Styles: 14 (Light 300, Regular 400, Medium 500, SemiBold 600, Bold 700, ExtraBold 800, Black 900; with italics)
- Variable font: Yes (wght 300–900, wdth 87–112, opsz 18–144)
- Glyphs: 2298
- Character sets: cyrillic, cyrillic-ext, latin, latin-ext, vietnamese
- Last updated: 2025-09-02
- Official source: https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Merriweather
- Page: https://trendhub.net/fonts/merriweather
- Tagged for: Headlines, Body text, Editorial

## About Merriweather

Merriweather is a serif typeface designed as a text face for screens. Its description lists the means: a very large x-height, sturdy serifs, somewhat condensed letters, open forms and a mild diagonal stress, all of which are visible in the specimen, where the lowercase stands tall against the capitals and the serifs are thick and flat. The current fonts are variable on three axes. Weight runs from 300 to 900, width from 87 to 112, and optical size from 18 to 144. Seven weights are named, Light to Black, each with an italic, for 14 styles. The fonts hold 2,298 glyphs covering Latin, Latin Extended, Cyrillic and Vietnamese. Eben Sorkin is the designer, and Sorkin Type, a foundry in western Massachusetts, leads the project. A sans serif sister family, Merriweather Sans, was drawn to match. The license is the SIL Open Font License 1.1.

## License

SIL Open Font License 1.1. Copyright 2020 The Merriweather Project Authors (https://github.com/EbenSorkin/Merriweather4) with Reserved Font Name "Merriweather".

Allowed:
- Use the fonts in personal and commercial work, in print, on the web and in apps.
- Modify the fonts and build new versions from them.
- Redistribute the fonts, on their own or bundled with software, as long as the license text and copyright notice go with them.

Conditions:
- The fonts cannot be sold by themselves.
- A modified version must stay under the same license and cannot use a Reserved Font Name without the copyright holder's permission.
- The authors' names cannot be used to promote a modified version without permission.

Summary only, not legal advice. Full text: https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/

## Where it works

- **Long articles on screens**: The very large x-height and sturdy serifs were chosen so paragraphs stay comfortable on ordinary displays.
- **Headlines from the same family**: The optical size axis reaches 144, so large titles can use a cut drawn for display instead of enlarged text letters.
- **Copy that must fit a measure**: The width axis, 87 to 112, narrows or widens the letters to fit a headline or a tight column without changing typeface.
- **Russian and Ukrainian text**: Cyrillic is part of the 2,298 glyphs, in all weights and in italic.
- **Reports with strong hierarchy**: Black 900 for headings down to Light 300 for notes gives several levels from one family.

## Things to know

- **Three axes**: Weight 300 to 900, width 87 to 112, optical size 18 to 144. The default instance is Light at normal width and optical size 18.
- **Heavy download**: The two variable files total about 9.2 MB as downloaded. For web pages, subset them or take static cuts from the official source.
- **No Greek**: Latin, Cyrillic and Vietnamese are covered; Greek is not.

## FAQs

### Is Merriweather free for commercial use?

Merriweather can be used in commercial work at no cost under the SIL Open Font License 1.1. The license also permits modification and redistribution; the font cannot be sold on its own, and any modified version must stay under the same license and may not use the reserved name "Merriweather" without permission.

### Who designed Merriweather?

Merriweather was designed by Eben Sorkin. Sorkin Type, a foundry in western Massachusetts, USA, runs the project.

### How many weights does Merriweather have?

Merriweather has seven weights, Light 300 to Black 900, each with an italic, for 14 styles.

### Is Merriweather a variable font?

Yes. Merriweather is a variable font with weight, width and optical size axes.

### Which languages does Merriweather support?

Merriweather includes the letters needed for English and other Latin-script languages such as German, Turkish, Polish and Vietnamese, and for Russian, Ukrainian and Bulgarian.

### What fonts pair well with Merriweather?

Merriweather Sans is the matching sans serif: it was drawn by the same designer to harmonise with Merriweather's weights and styles.

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Source: https://trendhub.net/fonts/merriweather (trendhub)