Merle
Pronounced M ER1 L (ARPABET)
- 1 syllable
- Peaked 1925
- 145 years in use
- 1 spelling
How popular is Merle?
Merle is a name given to both boys and girls, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 48,200 children — the 598th most common boys' name on record.
It is still recorded, but barely: 242 births across the past decade, against a peak of 906 in a single year. That peak was in 1925.
Merl is counted with it here, since the two are pronounced identically.
Roughly 31% of children named Merle are girls, so the split is a real one rather than a rounding error.
Spelling variants
These spellings sound identical to Merle and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.
- Merl
Characteristics
- 1 syllable
Phonetic detail
- Pronunciations:
- M ER1 L
- Stress pattern:
- 1
- Syllables:
- 1
Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.
Names like Merle
Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.
Sibling names for Merle
Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.
Frequently asked questions
- How popular is the name Merle?
- Merle ranks 598th among boys' names in US records, with 48,200 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 242.
- Is Merle a unisex name?
- Yes. About 31% of children given the name are girls, which is a genuine split rather than a rounding error.
- When was Merle most popular?
- 1925, when 906 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
- How else is Merle spelled?
- Merl. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.