Meaning not yet researched.
Merle: US boys given the name each year, 1880 to 2025, from Social Security card applications. 33 in 2025. Its best rank was #170 in 1918.
US births per year · SSA card applications
Peaked at #170 in 1918; #3,485 in 2025. About 87% of babies named Merle in 2025 were boys.
Baby name · US data 1880–2025
#3,485 for US boys in 2025. Its best year was 1918, at #170.
Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for any year. Years with fewer than five babies of a sex are not published by SSA and show as zero.
Merle: US boys and girls given the name each year from 1880 to 2025. 33 boys in 2025. Peak: #170 in 1918 · most boys in one year: 836 (1925).
In 2025, 33 US boys were named Merle, making it the 3,485th most common boys’ name of the year, up 1,169 places from #4,654 in 2024. That is 11 more than the 22 boys named Merle in 2024. Its best rank for boys was #170, reached in 1918. The most boys given the name in a single year was 836, in 1925. For comparison, it was #4,653 in 2015 and #339 in 1950.
In 2025, 5 US girls were named Merle, making it the 16,474th most common girls’ name of the year. Its best rank for girls was #295, reached in 1903. The most girls given the name in a single year was 442, in 1921. For comparison, it was unranked (under five girls) in 2015 and #721 in 1950.
Social Security card records list Merle in every one of the 146 years from 1880 to 2025; in 1880 there were 23 babies with the name. In all, 45,389 US babies have been given the name, 32% of them girls and 68% boys. Its busiest decade was the 1920s, with 11,573 babies named Merle.
Over the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, 256 US boys were named Merle; the busiest of those years was 2023, with 40. In 2025 that was about 1 in 51,760 of the boys in SSA’s list for the year.
Related spellings in the SSA files include Myrle (3,108 babies since 1880), Myrl (3,092 babies since 1880) and Merl (2,852 babies since 1880). Rarer spellings such as Mearl, Mirl and Mearle are summarised on this page.
Meaning not yet researched.
We publish a meaning only with a cited source and a confidence label, and never generate one. Meanings are being researched for the most common names first.
Wikidata records this spelling as a given name in Dutch and Estonian. That is where the name is used, not necessarily where it comes from.
Rare spellings summarised here: Mearl (1,638), Mirl (142), Mearle (108), Mirle (5).
Numbers are all-time US births. Links come from Wikidata’s “said to be the same as” (P460, CC0) and our spelling rule: at most two letters different, with the same sound pattern.
No nicknames listed for Merle in the open dataset we use.
Source: carltonnorthern/nicknames (Apache-2.0).
Births and national rank for each year SSA lists the name, newest first.
| Year | Girls | Girls rank | Boys | Boys rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | #16,474 | 33 | #3,485 |
| 2024 | — | — | 22 | #4,654 |
| 2023 | — | — | 40 | #3,098 |
| 2022 | — | — | 27 | #4,059 |
| 2021 | — | — | 22 | #4,589 |
| 2020 | — | — | 33 | #3,388 |
| 2019 | — | — | 22 | #4,589 |
| 2018 | — | — | 23 | #4,443 |
| 2017 | — | — | 20 | #4,874 |
| 2016 | — | — | 14 | #6,234 |
| 2015 | — | — | 21 | #4,653 |
| 2014 | — | — | 15 | #5,902 |
| 2013 | — | — | 16 | #5,556 |
| 2012 | — | — | 9 | #8,639 |
| 2011 | — | — | 18 | #5,122 |
| 2010 | — | — | 22 | #4,466 |
| 2009 | — | — | 22 | #4,534 |
| 2008 | — | — | 19 | #5,005 |
| 2007 | — | — | 17 | #5,351 |
| 2006 | — | — | 26 | #3,860 |
| 2005 | — | — | 18 | #4,765 |
| 2004 | 5 | #17,897 | 21 | #4,210 |
| 2003 | 5 | #17,471 | 22 | #3,922 |
| 2002 | — | — | 13 | #5,621 |
| 2001 | — | — | 30 | #3,038 |
| 2000 | — | — | 26 | #3,267 |
| 1999 | — | — | 23 | #3,451 |
| 1998 | — | — | 20 | #3,664 |
| 1997 | — | — | 28 | #2,797 |
| 1996 | — | — | 28 | #2,723 |
| 1995 | 6 | #12,791 | 35 | #2,279 |
| 1994 | — | — | 26 | #2,822 |
| 1993 | 6 | #12,873 | 34 | #2,276 |
| 1992 | 6 | #12,795 | 33 | #2,284 |
| 1991 | 5 | #14,585 | 32 | #2,274 |
| 1990 | — | — | 33 | #2,197 |
| 1989 | 13 | #6,408 | 28 | #2,394 |
| 1988 | — | — | 48 | #1,543 |
| 1987 | 6 | #10,752 | 43 | #1,628 |
| 1986 | 6 | #10,401 | 35 | #1,778 |
| 1985 | — | — | 49 | #1,406 |
| 1984 | 6 | #9,911 | 51 | #1,310 |
| 1983 | — | — | 65 | #1,115 |
| 1982 | 8 | #7,942 | 57 | #1,239 |
| 1981 | 13 | #5,472 | 67 | #1,120 |
| 1980 | 5 | #11,496 | 59 | #1,196 |
| 1979 | 7 | #8,641 | 80 | #1,000 |
| 1978 | 11 | #5,828 | 60 | #1,142 |
| 1977 | — | — | 80 | #960 |
| 1976 | 5 | #10,286 | 65 | #1,034 |
| 1975 | 8 | #6,898 | 73 | #963 |
| 1974 | 9 | #6,063 | 79 | #918 |
| 1973 | 13 | #4,507 | 93 | #828 |
| 1972 | 13 | #4,449 | 111 | #756 |
| 1971 | 10 | #5,370 | 157 | #657 |
| 1970 | 18 | #3,524 | 131 | #720 |
| 1969 | 17 | #3,412 | 111 | #745 |
| 1968 | 21 | #2,840 | 135 | #653 |
| 1967 | 19 | #2,935 | 92 | #764 |
| 1966 | 24 | #2,500 | 121 | #676 |
| 1965 | 24 | #2,513 | 159 | #608 |
| 1964 | 38 | #1,936 | 166 | #609 |
| 1963 | 46 | #1,705 | 187 | #580 |
| 1962 | 53 | #1,551 | 180 | #582 |
| 1961 | 59 | #1,459 | 176 | #595 |
| 1960 | 62 | #1,398 | 176 | #590 |
| 1959 | 75 | #1,239 | 227 | #523 |
| 1958 | 95 | #1,078 | 232 | #506 |
| 1957 | 88 | #1,122 | 256 | #488 |
| 1956 | 107 | #986 | 292 | #441 |
| 1955 | 115 | #919 | 289 | #431 |
| 1954 | 137 | #804 | 307 | #410 |
| 1953 | 123 | #836 | 325 | #388 |
| 1952 | 134 | #772 | 340 | #367 |
| 1951 | 136 | #754 | 368 | #360 |
| 1950 | 141 | #721 | 395 | #339 |
| 1949 | 153 | #678 | 354 | #357 |
| 1948 | 179 | #618 | 432 | #322 |
| 1947 | 203 | #602 | 392 | #345 |
| 1946 | 206 | #549 | 406 | #319 |
| 1945 | 205 | #512 | 373 | #307 |
| 1944 | 239 | #466 | 391 | #305 |
| 1943 | 232 | #486 | 448 | #290 |
| 1942 | 275 | #441 | 442 | #288 |
| 1941 | 225 | #464 | 482 | #254 |
| 1940 | 237 | #443 | 467 | #254 |
| 1939 | 275 | #406 | 529 | #225 |
| 1938 | 264 | #415 | 525 | #228 |
| 1937 | 302 | #370 | 519 | #229 |
| 1936 | 341 | #338 | 568 | #209 |
| 1935 | 270 | #390 | 521 | #226 |
| 1934 | 212 | #449 | 599 | #207 |
| 1933 | 183 | #476 | 573 | #204 |
| 1932 | 200 | #461 | 593 | #211 |
| 1931 | 213 | #442 | 662 | #198 |
| 1930 | 237 | #437 | 711 | #196 |
| 1929 | 224 | #440 | 731 | #188 |
| 1928 | 293 | #390 | 764 | #186 |
| 1927 | 311 | #386 | 808 | #179 |
| 1926 | 340 | #365 | 787 | #180 |
| 1925 | 404 | #333 | 836 | #175 |
| 1924 | 383 | #346 | 782 | #184 |
| 1923 | 409 | #321 | 775 | #180 |
| 1922 | 394 | #330 | 835 | #172 |
| 1921 | 442 | #311 | 833 | #173 |
| 1920 | 403 | #324 | 819 | #171 |
| 1919 | 370 | #331 | 721 | #182 |
| 1918 | 375 | #332 | 795 | #170 |
| 1917 | 360 | #328 | 701 | #178 |
| 1916 | 373 | #313 | 604 | #191 |
| 1915 | 353 | #315 | 595 | #186 |
| 1914 | 247 | #336 | 415 | #201 |
| 1913 | 232 | #313 | 331 | #202 |
| 1912 | 221 | #307 | 268 | #207 |
| 1911 | 151 | #322 | 115 | #236 |
| 1910 | 138 | #334 | 100 | #235 |
| 1909 | 120 | #332 | 76 | #256 |
| 1908 | 120 | #323 | 76 | #244 |
| 1907 | 112 | #330 | 82 | #226 |
| 1906 | 84 | #372 | 72 | #230 |
| 1905 | 110 | #322 | 59 | #256 |
| 1904 | 92 | #341 | 53 | #263 |
| 1903 | 112 | #295 | 69 | #216 |
| 1902 | 112 | #299 | 58 | #245 |
| 1901 | 91 | #316 | 52 | #239 |
| 1900 | 113 | #315 | 54 | #283 |
| 1899 | 88 | #320 | 42 | #264 |
| 1898 | 77 | #357 | 49 | #254 |
| 1897 | 70 | #351 | 34 | #318 |
| 1896 | 86 | #314 | 44 | #277 |
| 1895 | 91 | #303 | 46 | #265 |
| 1894 | 70 | #333 | 38 | #286 |
| 1893 | 61 | #346 | 27 | #344 |
| 1892 | 60 | #341 | 38 | #302 |
| 1891 | 46 | #371 | 34 | #281 |
| 1890 | 68 | #307 | 26 | #346 |
| 1889 | 42 | #376 | 35 | #287 |
| 1888 | 25 | #509 | 15 | #518 |
| 1887 | 12 | #681 | 24 | #338 |
| 1886 | 14 | #627 | 22 | #376 |
| 1885 | 16 | #551 | 26 | #337 |
| 1884 | 16 | #534 | 19 | #424 |
| 1883 | 15 | #508 | 23 | #349 |
| 1882 | 11 | #589 | 13 | #530 |
| 1881 | 6 | #795 | 13 | #498 |
| 1880 | 6 | #810 | 17 | #437 |
About the data: counts are Social Security card applications for US births, for names given to at least five babies of a sex in a year (SSA, names.zip, public domain). Ranks follow SSA’s own order: most births first, ties alphabetical. Files retrieved 2026-10-05 (checksum on our sources page).