Merle
Masculine · “blackbird”
Merle is given to both — 30,666 boys and 14,723 girls since 1880. See Merle as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Merle is a blackbird. The French word comes straight from the Latin merula, and the bird's song is the reason the word survived into naming at all.
How old is the name Merle?
Merle was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Merle alive today was born around 1930, making them about 95 years old. About 8,700 people named Merle are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Merle most popular?
Merle peaked in 1918, reaching #170 nationally. Today it ranks #3450, 3,280 places below that high. See the whole 1918 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From merula to Merle
The story of Merle
Merle entered English as a surname — a nickname for someone with a fine voice or dark hair — and crossed into given-name use in nineteenth-century America, where it was given to both sexes from the start. Bird names were a small but real category in that period, alongside Robin and Wren. Masculine use in America peaked in the early 1920s, with feminine use running alongside it at a lower level throughout.
Meaning
blackbird
From the French merle, from the Latin merula, 'blackbird'. The bird is one of the great singers of European woodland, and the word appears in poetry for centuries before it appears on anyone's birth certificate. The English word 'merle' for the bird is a direct borrowing.
How the name formed
- merula
- merle
- Merle
Related forms: Merle · Merl · Merula
Pronouncing Merle
MURL
One syllable in English. French says it with a lighter final consonant and a purer vowel.
Nicknames for Merle
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 1921833 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #170reached in 1918
- Change vs 2022
- +22.2%33 in 2025, from 27
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Merle in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Merle in French — same name
- Merl in English — spelling variant
- Merula in Latin — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Pennsylvania.
Merles among us
people named Merle are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 51,760 born in 2025 was named Merle
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Merle sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Merle is headed
Merle should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Merle beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Merle in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is concrete, vivid and attached to one of Europe's best-known songbirds.
- One syllable, unmistakable, and never misspelled by an English speaker.
- It has a documented French and Latin history rather than being an American assembly.
- It was given to both sexes in American records and does not signal sex on paper.
- It is strongly period-coded to the first half of the twentieth century.
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What they receive
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Merle
Masculine · #3450 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Merles are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 8,700 people named Merle are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Merle in 2025?
- Merle ranks #3450 among US boy names in 2025, with 33 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Merle?
- About 1 in every 51,760 US boys born in 2025 was named Merle — 33 in all.
- Will my child share the name Merle with classmates?
- Merle will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Merle
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Sabastian#3450 · Luc#3450 · Deshaun#3450 · Trayvon#3450 · Blade#3450 · Oz#3450 · Josiyah#3450 · Fausto#3450
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Merle? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Merle and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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