Meaning not yet researched.
Merlin: US boys given the name each year, 1880 to 2025, from Social Security card applications. 59 in 2025. Its best rank was #288 in 1927.
US births per year · SSA card applications
Peaked at #288 in 1927; #2,343 in 2025. About 81% of babies named Merlin in 2025 were boys.
Baby name · US data 1880–2025
#2,343 for US boys in 2025. Its best year was 1927, at #288.
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.
Merlin: US boys and girls given the name each year from 1880 to 2025. 59 boys in 2025. Peak: #288 in 1927 · most boys in one year: 389 (1927).
In 2025, 59 US boys were named Merlin, making it the 2,343rd most common boys’ name of the year, down 271 places from #2,072 in 2024. That is 14 fewer than the 73 boys named Merlin in 2024. Its best rank for boys was #288, reached in 1927. That year also had the most boys given the name: 389. For comparison, it was #3,284 in 2015 and #507 in 1950.
In 2025, 14 US girls were named Merlin, making it the 7,758th most common girls’ name of the year, up 523 places from #8,281 in 2024. That is 1 more than the 13 girls named Merlin in 2024. Its best rank for girls was #1,608, reached in 1901. The most girls given the name in a single year was 30, in 2003. For comparison, it was #9,324 in 2015 and unranked in 1950.
Social Security card records list Merlin in 134 years of the 146 from 1880 to 2025, starting in 1885 with 6 babies. In all, 15,968 US babies have been given the name, 5.8% of them girls and 94% boys. Its busiest decade was the 1920s, with 3,435 babies named Merlin.
Over the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, 569 US boys were named Merlin; the busiest of those years was 2024, with 73. In 2025 that was about 1 in 28,950 of the boys in SSA’s list for the year.
Among the states, Merlin ranked highest in Indiana in 2025, at #819 for boys there. It was not in the top 100 of any state. Related spellings in the SSA files include Merlyn (5,045 babies since 1880) and Merlene (2,379 babies since 1880). Rarer spellings such as Merline, Merlon and Merleen 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 Estonian. That is where the name is used, not necessarily where it comes from.
Rare spellings summarised here: Merline (1,079), Merlon (181), Merleen (113), Merlean (72), Merlen (65), Merlynn (56), Myrlin (30), Merlan (6), Myrlen (6), Myrline (6), Merrlyn (5), Merlyne (5), and more.
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 Merlin in the open dataset we use.
Source: carltonnorthern/nicknames (Apache-2.0).
US boys. Rank within each state. SSA leaves out states where fewer than five boys got the name, so 48 are not listed.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank 2025 | Rank 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | 7 | #819 | — |
| Tennessee | 6 | #1,002 | — |
| Texas | 6 | #2,469 | — |
Births and national rank for each year SSA lists the name, newest first.
| Year | Girls | Girls rank | Boys | Boys rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 14 | #7,758 | 59 | #2,343 |
| 2024 | 13 | #8,281 | 73 | #2,072 |
| 2023 | 13 | #8,345 | 62 | #2,285 |
| 2022 | 11 | #9,451 | 49 | #2,703 |
| 2021 | 12 | #8,818 | 70 | #2,092 |
| 2020 | 17 | #6,825 | 52 | #2,493 |
| 2019 | 10 | #10,239 | 53 | #2,514 |
| 2018 | 12 | #8,987 | 57 | #2,346 |
| 2017 | 14 | #8,142 | 54 | #2,408 |
| 2016 | 11 | #9,866 | 40 | #2,967 |
| 2015 | 12 | #9,324 | 35 | #3,284 |
| 2014 | 12 | #9,354 | 34 | #3,283 |
| 2013 | 8 | #12,777 | 37 | #3,036 |
| 2012 | 15 | #8,079 | 39 | #2,989 |
| 2011 | 12 | #9,539 | 31 | #3,489 |
| 2010 | 15 | #8,169 | 24 | #4,194 |
| 2009 | 17 | #7,574 | 40 | #2,976 |
| 2008 | 26 | #5,532 | 40 | #2,988 |
| 2007 | 25 | #5,643 | 43 | #2,793 |
| 2006 | 22 | #6,062 | 49 | #2,500 |
| 2005 | 18 | #6,732 | 37 | #2,883 |
| 2004 | 12 | #9,081 | 46 | #2,442 |
| 2003 | 30 | #4,382 | 44 | #2,415 |
| 2002 | 15 | #7,318 | 43 | #2,398 |
| 2001 | 14 | #7,603 | 54 | #1,998 |
| 2000 | 12 | #8,378 | 47 | #2,162 |
| 1999 | 5 | #16,023 | 49 | #1,983 |
| 1998 | 10 | #9,048 | 45 | #2,084 |
| 1997 | 7 | #11,656 | 30 | #2,659 |
| 1996 | 14 | #6,620 | 39 | #2,168 |
| 1995 | 19 | #5,157 | 40 | #2,080 |
| 1994 | 18 | #5,385 | 28 | #2,663 |
| 1993 | 6 | #12,874 | 41 | #1,990 |
| 1992 | 19 | #5,195 | 33 | #2,285 |
| 1991 | 11 | #7,775 | 42 | #1,882 |
| 1990 | 10 | #8,293 | 44 | #1,800 |
| 1989 | 8 | #9,333 | 27 | #2,448 |
| 1988 | — | — | 49 | #1,518 |
| 1987 | 6 | #10,753 | 39 | #1,724 |
| 1986 | — | — | 34 | #1,824 |
| 1985 | — | — | 44 | #1,519 |
| 1984 | — | — | 39 | #1,568 |
| 1983 | 7 | #8,649 | 40 | #1,525 |
| 1982 | 5 | #11,632 | 45 | #1,432 |
| 1981 | — | — | 42 | #1,491 |
| 1980 | 6 | #9,882 | 48 | #1,368 |
| 1979 | — | — | 45 | #1,403 |
| 1978 | — | — | 48 | #1,318 |
| 1977 | — | — | 48 | #1,307 |
| 1976 | — | — | 53 | #1,185 |
| 1975 | — | — | 48 | #1,237 |
| 1974 | — | — | 57 | #1,096 |
| 1973 | 5 | #9,274 | 50 | #1,171 |
| 1972 | 6 | #7,890 | 71 | #966 |
| 1971 | — | — | 65 | #1,012 |
| 1970 | — | — | 48 | #1,201 |
| 1969 | — | — | 74 | #891 |
| 1968 | — | — | 65 | #895 |
| 1967 | — | — | 73 | #838 |
| 1966 | 9 | #4,742 | 87 | #782 |
| 1965 | — | — | 81 | #824 |
| 1964 | 5 | #7,452 | 95 | #777 |
| 1963 | — | — | 108 | #750 |
| 1962 | — | — | 96 | #777 |
| 1961 | — | — | 110 | #738 |
| 1960 | — | — | 105 | #755 |
| 1959 | — | — | 130 | #669 |
| 1958 | 5 | #6,707 | 156 | #617 |
| 1957 | 5 | #6,731 | 147 | #636 |
| 1956 | 5 | #6,575 | 150 | #622 |
| 1955 | 6 | #5,637 | 175 | #558 |
| 1954 | 8 | #4,539 | 151 | #602 |
| 1953 | — | — | 158 | #568 |
| 1952 | 6 | #5,345 | 156 | #562 |
| 1951 | — | — | 176 | #514 |
| 1950 | — | — | 175 | #507 |
| 1949 | 5 | #5,778 | 150 | #545 |
| 1948 | 12 | #3,083 | 155 | #534 |
| 1947 | 11 | #3,384 | 163 | #530 |
| 1946 | 7 | #4,285 | 207 | #442 |
| 1945 | 7 | #3,910 | 187 | #437 |
| 1944 | — | — | 208 | #420 |
| 1943 | 5 | #5,138 | 266 | #375 |
| 1942 | 8 | #3,636 | 217 | #419 |
| 1941 | 6 | #4,276 | 258 | #364 |
| 1940 | 7 | #3,741 | 249 | #364 |
| 1939 | 9 | #3,074 | 245 | #359 |
| 1938 | — | — | 284 | #332 |
| 1937 | — | — | 257 | #339 |
| 1936 | 15 | #2,116 | 274 | #329 |
| 1935 | 11 | #2,680 | 308 | #310 |
| 1934 | 6 | #4,143 | 283 | #323 |
| 1933 | 9 | #3,048 | 302 | #307 |
| 1932 | 10 | #2,976 | 314 | #309 |
| 1931 | 15 | #2,173 | 363 | #291 |
| 1930 | 5 | #5,030 | 333 | #311 |
| 1929 | 12 | #2,685 | 328 | #305 |
| 1928 | 7 | #4,048 | 307 | #320 |
| 1927 | 16 | #2,311 | 389 | #288 |
| 1926 | 14 | #2,542 | 368 | #296 |
| 1925 | 16 | #2,353 | 343 | #307 |
| 1924 | 10 | #3,298 | 337 | #312 |
| 1923 | 10 | #3,286 | 266 | #366 |
| 1922 | 10 | #3,298 | 328 | #316 |
| 1921 | 11 | #3,092 | 342 | #315 |
| 1920 | 7 | #4,271 | 314 | #328 |
| 1919 | 8 | #3,696 | 251 | #365 |
| 1918 | 12 | #2,780 | 268 | #355 |
| 1917 | 12 | #2,654 | 230 | #369 |
| 1916 | 11 | #2,772 | 220 | #369 |
| 1915 | — | — | 179 | #402 |
| 1914 | — | — | 127 | #426 |
| 1913 | — | — | 85 | #470 |
| 1912 | 6 | #2,860 | 76 | #454 |
| 1911 | — | — | 33 | #519 |
| 1910 | — | — | 23 | #612 |
| 1909 | — | — | 20 | #604 |
| 1908 | — | — | 30 | #446 |
| 1907 | — | — | 21 | #528 |
| 1906 | — | — | 12 | #739 |
| 1905 | — | — | 10 | #825 |
| 1904 | — | — | 14 | #635 |
| 1903 | — | — | 9 | #824 |
| 1902 | — | — | 14 | #604 |
| 1901 | 6 | #1,608 | 7 | #915 |
| 1900 | — | — | 8 | #1,019 |
| 1899 | — | — | 8 | #837 |
| 1898 | — | — | 7 | #958 |
| 1896 | — | — | 6 | #1,063 |
| 1895 | — | — | 10 | #730 |
| 1891 | — | — | 6 | #920 |
| 1890 | — | — | 5 | #1,106 |
| 1887 | — | — | 8 | #722 |
| 1885 | — | — | 6 | #898 |
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).