Merril
Masculine · “Son of Muriel”
Merril is given to both — 858 boys and 134 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Merril is a surname that descends from a woman's name, which is rarer than it sounds — most English surnames record a father, a trade or a place, and only a small set record a mother.
How old is the name Merril?
Merril first appears in US birth records in 1910 — 115 years ago. The typical Merril alive today was born around 1929, making them about 96 years old. About 200 people named Merril are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Merril most popular?
Merril peaked in 1920, reaching #1180 nationally. See the whole 1920 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Muriel to Merril
The story of Merril
Surnames from mothers exist and are outnumbered enormously. They cluster where a woman held property, where a father died early, or where a mother's name was simply more distinctive — and they preserve, by accident, a set of medieval women's names that would otherwise have vanished. Muriel is one: Breton in origin, carried into England after the Conquest, ordinary for three hundred years, then out of use for five hundred, and surviving mainly inside the surnames built on it. A man carrying this name is carrying a medieval woman's name at one remove, which almost nobody who has it knows.
Meaningscholars disagree
Son of Muriel
The likeliest account derives the surname from the medieval woman's name Muriel, which came from Brittany and was ordinary in England for centuries. A rival explanation takes it from a place name meaning a pleasant hill. The merry that English speakers see in it is not in either derivation.
How the name formed
- Muriel
- Merrill
- Merril
Pronouncing Merril
MER-ul
Two syllables, stress at the front. The single l is said exactly as a doubled one.
Nicknames for Merril
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
- 1910
- Most boys named
- 192037 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1180reached in 1920
- Change vs 1980
- −16.7%5 in 2008, from 6
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.
Merrils among us
people named Merril are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Merril sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It has a real and unusual history rather than an invented one.
- It is read correctly on sight with nothing difficult in it.
- It works for either child, which the record confirms.
- Merrill with two ls is the commoner spelling and his will be written that way.
- Most children with this spelling are boys, but a real minority are girls; either may be taken for the other.
- The word merry is not in the name, whatever it looks like.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Merril to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Merril? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Merril
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Merrils are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Merril are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Merril in 2025?
- Merril is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Merril with classmates?
- Merril will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More M names
The most-given names starting with M, all years combined.
Michael#21 · Matthew#32 · Mark#244 · Mason#39 · Martin#335 · Marvin#699 · Melvin#958 · Marcus#258
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Merril? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Merril and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
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
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle