What would you call non-binary merfolk?
This is a question I pondered over, as I created Torren Dabberlocks, a non binary mythical being of the nautical kind. Torren has a long tail, weighted with glass beads. I decided to give them hair in the non binary flag colours, and bring some of the yellow and purple into the trailing seaweed painted on their chest.
After some head scratching and research, I felt that the closest non gendered term we have in English, that's less clunky than 'mer-person' is a Merrow, which originates in Irish mythology. However, after asking the question to my community, some were not so sure, as merrows are sometimes described as requiring a red cap to travel between land and sea.
Other suggestions included Merfay, Merby, and Merson. I think my personal favourite is mer-being, though merfay is cute too!