Given name

Myrna

“one who is much loved”

Myrna is used as a given name. One interpretation is “one who is much loved.”

Meaning & origin

What it means

One interpretation is “one who is much loved.”

Where it comes from

Myrna has a related form in Morna. An origin associated with Morna is Irish.

Explained through its name family

How it developed

From Irish Muirne (“beloved”).

Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1885. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Myrna has a related form in Morna. The history of Morna gives this family its wider story. In James Macpherson’s Ossianic poems, Morna is the name of Fingal’s mother. This literary context forms part of the name’s history alongside its connection with Myrna.

Combines direct and name-family evidence

Myrna through the years

Babies since 1880
31,742
42 boys · 31,700 girls
Most popular year
1938
1,808 babies
2025
0
Outside the ranked list
2021–25 vs 2016–20
−50%
Cooling
05001,0001,5002,0001900192019401960198020002025Highest share 19380.0
Myrna in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1885–2025, 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 8 in 2024. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 1,801 in 1938. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 29,441 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.

Myrna’s family of names

Myrna has a related form in Mirna. Myrna has a related form in Merna. Myrna has a related form in Morna.

Walk Myrna’s family in the name graph

MyrnaMyrnahMirnaMernaMornaMurnaMoinaMoynaMeirnaMuirnaMyrnnaMyraMuirneMýra

Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.

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 9

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

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Spellings & scripts 1

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

Across languages 3

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

Similar names

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

Scottish · Literary

Bonnie

“a pretty and charming girl”

63FamiliarRising fast

>99% girls

Literary

Merrilee

“one who is lighthearted and joyful” · “filled with joy”

0Not recently recorded

>99% girls

Irish · Literary

Mctigue

“son of the poet”

No U.S. birth series

—

Literary

Merrilie

“one who is lighthearted and joyful” · “filled with joy”

0Not recently recorded

>99% girls

Irish · Literary

Meneely

“son of the poet”

No U.S. birth series

—

Gaelic · Literary

Dervla

“one's true desire; a poet's daughter”

No U.S. birth series

>99% girls

Irish · Literary

Mctighe

“son of the poet”

No U.S. birth series

—

Literary

Merrily

“one who is lighthearted and joyful” · “filled with joy”

11Very rare

>99% girls

Sibling ideas

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

A brother for Myrna

A sister for Myrna