Merle

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 6 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Merle is also recorded as 2 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Swahili given name1.7K records spelled Merle4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, South Africa, Philippines, United Kingdom

  Languages: Swahili, Southern Sotho

  Also written Merlé

• Hindi given name1.1K records spelled Merle3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, South Africa, India, United Kingdom

  Languages: Hindi, Urdu

  Also written Merlé

66 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Merle is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• from a pet form of a short form of a personal name formed with German mar, mer ‘famous’ as the first element.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In English, The Eurasian blackbird, Turdus merula.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• Michaella, Michal, Michala, Michale, Mirlo

  as a name·25,000 nombres de bebé. La mejor guía para escoger el nombre adecuado

• Mirlo, pájaro

  as a name·25,000 nombres de bebé. La mejor guía para escoger el nombre adecuado

• In German, blackbird

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• John Merle Coulterb. 1851USU.S. Botanist (1851-1928)
• Merle Curtib. 1897USAmerican historian (1897–1996)
• Merle Oberonb. 1911USBritish actress (1911-1979)
• Merle Travisb. 1917USAmerican country/Western singer-songwriter and musician
• Eugene M. Shoemakerb. 1928USnot in their usual nameAmerican geologist and astronomer
• Merle Haggardb. 1937USAmerican country music songwriter, singer, and musician (1937–2016)
• Mimsy Farmerb. 1945USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress
• Chris O'Neilb. 1956AUnot in their usual nameAustralian tennis player (born 1956)
• Merle Palmisteb. 1970EEEstonian actress (born 1970)
• Merle Dandridgeb. 1975USAmerican actress and singer

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 577 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Merle?

We estimate roughly 13 thousand people bear Merle (counting its spellings and scripts) across 9 countries in our records.

In which country does Merle have the most bearers?

Merle is most frequently recorded in the United Kingdom, where it is most often spelled merle.

Where is Merle most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Merle is densest in Denmark — about 1 in 2.0 thousand people — even though United Kingdom holds more of our records for it.

How common is Merle compared with other names?

In Jamaica, Merle is the 105th most common given name of 20,217 given names recorded there.

Is Merle a male or female name?

Merle is recorded for both men and women. We don't publish a percentage split: a record's gender belongs to the person and is attached to every given name on that record, so names in cultures where a name string also carries a parent's or spouse's given name pick up large cross-gender counts.

What does the name Merle mean?

Recorded meaning: nickname, possibly for a good or habitual singer or whistler, from Middle High German, Old French merle ‘blackbird’ (Latin merula).