Boy · English, possibly French
Merle
Say it: MURL
Meaning
Uncertain. Possibly from the French word merle 'blackbird', or a form of Merrill or Muriel.
Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.
Used for both sexes in the US from the late 19th century, it was most common for boys in the 1910s and 1920s.
Its wave through time
Fading since the 1920s
In the United States
- 45,232 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1921, about 1 in 1,300 boys
- 32 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Merl, Murl
Famous bearers
- Merle Haggard, American country singer
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- National census records of the 19th and 20th centuries
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.