The family's surname, Merry del Val, was formed by combining the surnames of the 1st Marquess's paternal grandparents: Rafael Merry y Gayte and María de la Trinidad del Val Gómez. The Merrys were the Irish noble family, originally from
County Waterford, that settled in
Seville in the 18th century. Those of the Val were a noble lineage from the
Kingdom of Aragon, originally from
Zaragoza. The parents of the 1st Marquess were Sofía Josefa de Zulueta (1839–1925), and
Rafael Carlos Merry del Val (1831–1917), a career diplomat who served as the
Spanish Ambassador to Belgium, to the
Holy See, and
Minister at the Imperial Court of Vienna, and
Gentlemen of the Bedchamber to Queen
Isabella II and Kings
Alfonso XII and
Alfonso XII. The 2nd Marquess served as the
Spanish Ambassador to the United States, among other countries. As the 2nd Marquess died without issue, he was succeeded by his nephew, Rafael Merry del Val y Melgarajeo, son of the 2nd Marquess's younger brother Pablo, whose children inherited the title Count of Valle de San Juan. ==Marquesses of Merry del Val (1925)==