Merig is a small island located 20 kilometres (12 miles) east of Gaua, in the Banks Islands of northern Vanuatu.
The island is about 800 metres (2,600 feet) wide, and has a circumference of 2.2 kilometres (1 mile).
The name Merig [ŋ͡mʷeriɣ] comes from the Mota language. It comes from a Proto-Torres-Banks form *mʷera riɣi "the small boy" via haplology to *mʷeriɣi. It contrasts with Merelava, from *mʷera-i laβa "the big boy". The native term in Mwerlap is N̄wërig [ŋʷɞˈriɣ], from the same etymon.
The first recorded sighting of Merig Island by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of Pedro Fernández de Quirós on 25 April 1606.[2] It was then named Île Sainte Claire.[3]
As of 2009, Merig was only inhabited by three households, consisting of 12 individuals.[4] Merig was not listed in Vanuatu's 2020 census.[5]
The inhabitants of Merig speak Mwerlap,[6] the language of the neighbouring island Merelava.
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