Murl
Masculine · “a blackbird”
Murl is given to both — 1,941 boys and 626 girls since 1880. See Murl as a girl nameSee other names given to both
This spelling writes the vowel English actually uses. Merle is French and the e in it is a French e; in an American mouth the word comes out with the vowel of fur, and Murl simply writes that down. It is a transcription rather than a decoration.
How old is the name Murl?
Murl first appears in US birth records in 1886 — 139 years ago. The typical Murl alive today was born around 1930, making them about 95 years old. About 400 people named Murl are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Murl most popular?
Murl peaked in 1898, reaching #744 nationally. See the whole 1898 chart.
Where it comes from
From merle to Murl
The story of Murl
The word has a second life in dog breeding and it carries a warning. A merle coat — the mottled, marbled pattern seen in collies, Australian shepherds and dachshunds — is named for the bird's plumage, and it is produced by a dominant gene. Breeding two merle dogs together gives roughly a quarter of the puppies two copies, and those are frequently deaf, blind or both, sometimes with eyes that have not properly formed. Responsible breeders will not do it and several kennel clubs refuse to register the results. A pretty word for a pattern, attached to a genuinely serious piece of genetics.
Meaning
a blackbird
The French word for the bird, taken whole as a name. The sense is not in dispute and the bird in question is the common European blackbird rather than the American one, which is a different species entirely.
How the name formed
- merle
- Merle
- Murl
Pronouncing Murl
MURL
One syllable with the vowel of fur. The French spelling is said the same way in America, so this version is recording the sound rather than changing it.
Nicknames for Murl
Limited
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
- 1886
- Most boys named
- 192758 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #744reached in 1898
- Change vs 1978
- 0.0%5 in 1983, from 5
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.
Murls among us
people named Murl 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
Murl 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
- The spelling records the sound honestly rather than preserving a French appearance.
- One syllable, four letters, and never needs repeating.
- It is genuinely rare with no competing modern associations.
- Merle is the commoner spelling and this one gets corrected constantly.
- Most children with this spelling are boys, but a real minority are girls; either may be taken for the other.
- The generation that used it is now very old.
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What they receive
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Murl
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Murls are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Murl are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Murl in 2025?
- Murl is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Murl with classmates?
- Murl 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 Murl? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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