Given name & surname · also Turkish

Merve

“a friend of the sea”

Merve is a variant of Mervin. In Welsh use, Mervin carries the interpretation “a friend of the sea.”

Meaning & origin

What it means

Merve is a variant of Mervin. In Welsh use, Mervin carries the interpretation “a friend of the sea.”

Explained through its name family

Where it comes from

Merve comes from Ottoman Turkish, and ultimately from Hebrew.

Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)

How it developed

From Ottoman Turkish مروا (Merve), from Arabic مَرْوَة, from Hebrew מוריה.

Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1992. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.

From dated birth records

Merve through the years

Babies since 1880
102
0 boys · 102 girls
Most popular year
1998
13 babies
2025
0
Outside the ranked list
2021–25 vs 2016–20
—
Too few births to compare
0246820002025Highest share 19980.0
Merve in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1992–2025, per million girls born. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

By the numbers

The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 2015. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 13 in 1998. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 537 as a first name in 2020.

From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.

Merve’s family of names

Merve has a related form in Mervin. In Greek usage, Merve as a surname is a transliteration of Μερβέ.

Walk Merve’s family in the name graph

MerveMervéΜερβέMervin

Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Nicknames & forms 1

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

Spellings & scripts 2

The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.

Similar names

If you love Merve, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Hebrew · Modern

Ieva

“bird cherry”

0Not recently recorded

>99% girls

Modern

Laryn

“crowned with laurel; from the laurel tree”

0Not recently recorded

>99% girls

Persian · Modern

Minseo

Minseo is a feminine given name from Persian. It is used in French.

0Not recently recorded

>99% girls

Hebrew · Modern

Kerena

“horn of eye-paint”

0Not recently recorded

>99% girls

American · Modern

Butterfly

Butterfly is used as a given name and a surname. One American interpretation is “resembling a beautiful and colorful winged insect.”

0Not recently recorded

>99% girls

Modern

Araxi

“from the river of inspiration”

0Not recently recorded

>99% girls

Modern

Fushia

“resembling the flower”

0Not recently recorded

>99% girls

Hebrew · Modern

Sigal

“an aromatic plant not definitively identified”

0Not recently recorded

>99% girls

Sibling ideas

Names that share Merve’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Merve

A sister for Merve