Given name & surname
Merle
“resembling a blackbird”
Merle is used as a given name and a surname. One French interpretation is “resembling a blackbird.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One French interpretation is “resembling a blackbird.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is French.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Merle through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 45,389
- 30,666 boys · 14,723 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 1,275 babies
- 2025
- 38
- #3,485 for boys · #16,474 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +33%
- Rising
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 98% boys.
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 33 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 3,485 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 28.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 836 in 1925. It also appeared in 5 birth records for girls in 2025. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 15,757 as a first name in 2020; 1,016 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Merle’s family of names
In English usage, Merle has a related form in Muriel. Merle has a related form in Meryl. Merle has a related form in Meri.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 20
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Merle
- Merle OberonBritish actress (1911-1979)
- Merle HaggardAmerican country music songwriter, singer, and musician (1937–2016)
- Merle FrohmsGerman association football playerborn 1995
- Mimsy FarmerAmerican actressborn 1945
- Merle JäägerEstonian actress and poet (born 1965)
- Merle TravisAmerican country/Western singer-songwriter and musician1917–1983
- Merle DandridgeAmerican actress and singerborn 1975
- Merle KilgoreAmerican musician (1934-2005)
- Merle Greene RobertsonAmerican Mesoamericanist (1913-2011)
Characters named Merle: Merle Dixon (fictional character).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Merle, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Garland
“decorated with a wreath of flowers” · “one who is crowned”
86% boys · 14% girls
Richmond
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Garnett
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Eugene
“a wellborn man”
>99% boys
Wallace
“foreign, Celtic” · “a Welshman; a man from the south”
98% boys · 2% girls
Lonzo
“one who is ready for battle”
>99% boys
Gaston
“a man from Gascony”
>99% boys
Clovis
“a renowned warrior”
>99% boys