Merlin
Masculine · “sea fort”
Merlin is given to both — 15,049 boys and 919 girls since 1880. See Merlin as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Merlin is a Latin editor's tidy-up. The Welsh original was Myrddin, and Geoffrey of Monmouth changed it — apparently to avoid a French word he did not want attached to his wizard.
How old is the name Merlin?
Merlin first appears in US birth records in 1885 — 140 years ago. The typical Merlin alive today was born around 1938, making them about 87 years old. About 5,800 people named Merlin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Merlin most popular?
Merlin peaked in 1927, reaching #287 nationally. Today it ranks #2332, 2,045 places below that high. See the whole 1927 chart.
Where it comes from
From Caerfyrddin to Merlin
The story of Merlin
Myrddin appears in early Welsh poetry as a prophet driven mad by battle, and Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain in the 1130s made him Arthur's wizard and one of the most durable figures in European literature. The name was almost never given until the nineteenth century. American use rose through the 1900s and peaked around 1935.
Meaningscholars disagree
sea fort
The Welsh Myrddin derives from the place name Caerfyrddin, Carmarthen, generally read as 'sea fort' — and the person is probably named from the place rather than the other way round. Geoffrey of Monmouth Latinized it as Merlinus rather than Merdinus, apparently to avoid the French merde. The falcon called a merlin is a separate word.
How the name formed
- Caerfyrddin
- Myrddin
- Merlinus
- Merlin
Related forms: Myrddin · Merlin · Marlin
Pronouncing Merlin
MUR-lin
Two syllables, stress on the first. The Welsh Myrddin is said MUR-thin, with a th.
Nicknames for Merlin
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
- 1885
- Most boys named
- 1927389 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #287reached in 1927
- Change vs 2022
- +20.4%59 in 2025, from 49
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.
Merlin in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Myrddin in Welsh — related form
- Merlin in French — same name
- Marlin in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Ohio.
Merlins among us
people named Merlin are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 28,950 born in 2025 was named Merlin
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Merlin
- #2332
- Merlin on the 2025 chart
- #863
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Merlin went to 59 boys in 2025, but Merlyn is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 65, which makes it the 863rd most-given boys’ name of the year — 1,469 places above the chart.
- Merlin59
- Merlyn6
About 1 boy in 26,278 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 28,950 for Merlin itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Al test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Merlin's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Al climbed just as high around 1910, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Al's path sketches the road Merlin is walking now.
Merlin 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 Merlin is headed
Merlin 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.
Merlin beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Merlin in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One of the most durable figures in European literature stands behind it.
- The story of why Geoffrey changed the spelling is genuinely entertaining and well documented.
- Two firm syllables with no pronunciation risk in English.
- The wizard association is total and inescapable.
- The sea-fort reading is a place name rather than a description of a person.
- It is period-coded to the early twentieth century in American records.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Merlin
Masculine · #2332 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Merlins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 5,800 people named Merlin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Merlin?
- Merlin is the most-used spelling in US records — 59 of the 65 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Merlyn.
- How popular is the name Merlin in 2025?
- Merlin ranks #2332 among US boy names in 2025, with 59 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Merlin?
- About 1 in every 28,950 US boys born in 2025 was named Merlin — 59 in all.
- Will my child share the name Merlin with classmates?
- Merlin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Merlin
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Harlen#2332 · Skye#2332 · Rishaan#2332 · Oak#2332 · Kobi#2332 · Layth#2332 · Keyon#2332 · Saad#2332
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Merlin? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Merlin and another name?
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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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