Merle
Merle was the 3485th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 33 babies. Its best year was 1918, when it ranked 170th; the most babies were born in 1925 (836). Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,168 places. More babies were named Merle in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning "blackbird" · French, English, Latin
Say it MURL /mɝl/
- Rank in 2025
- #3,485 boys, down 97 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 33boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 1925836 babies
- Total since 1880
- 45,389babies recorded
What does the name Merle mean?
Merle is used for both boys and girls. As a surname it is French, from merle, "blackbird", from Latin merula. Wiktionary also describes a 19th-century English girls' name from the same bird word, possibly influenced by Muriel and Merrill. In the US it was most common in the 1910s and 1920s and was given more often to boys; the country singer Merle Haggard is a well-known bearer.
merle (French, “blackbird”)merula (Latin, “blackbird”)
How sure is this? Probable. The bird word is clear; for some bearers Merle may be a form of Muriel or Merrill.
Related names: Merrill, Muriel, Meryl, Merl.
See also: French names, names that mean an animal.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Merle', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wikipedia, 'Merle (given name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)
Merle popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #16,474 | #3,485 | 5 | 33 |
| 2020 | — | #3,388 | — | 33 |
| 2010 | — | #4,466 | — | 22 |
| 2000 | — | #3,267 | — | 26 |
| 1990 | — | #2,197 | — | 33 |
| 1980 | #11,496 | #1,196 | 5 | 59 |
| 1970 | #3,524 | #720 | 18 | 131 |
| 1960 | #1,398 | #590 | 62 | 176 |
| 1950 | #721 | #339 | 141 | 395 |
| 1940 | #443 | #254 | 237 | 467 |
| 1930 | #437 | #196 | 237 | 711 |
| 1920 | #324 | #171 | 403 | 819 |
| 1910 | #334 | #235 | 138 | 100 |
| 1900 | #315 | #283 | 113 | 54 |
| 1890 | #307 | #346 | 68 | 26 |
| 1880 | #810 | #437 | 6 | 17 |
How popular is Merle, counting every spelling?
Merle has no other common spelling that sounds the same.
How many kids will share the name Merle?
33 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Merle (0.01 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Merle born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 253 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Merle.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Merle?
About 7,800 people born in the US named Merle are alive today, with a median age of 70; half are between 55 and 79. That makes Merle a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Merle: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Merle, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Merle · Sibling names for Merle
Questions about the name Merle
What does Merle mean?
Merle means “"blackbird"” (French, English, Latin origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Merle?
Merle was the 3485th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 33 babies. Its best year was 1918, when it ranked 170th; the most babies were born in 1925 (836). Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,168 places. More babies were named Merle in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Merle a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Merle in the US.