Muriel

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 4 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◐

Muriel is also recorded as 7 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English given name422K records spelled Muriel30 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada

  Languages: English, German, Dutch

  Also written Muriël, Mueriel, Murièl, Müriel, Murie͏̈l

• Portuguese given name217K records spelled Muriel22 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, Argentina, United States, Chile

  Languages: Portuguese, Spanish

  Also written Muriél, Muriël, Müriel, Muríel, Murĭel

• a separate given name9.6K records spelled Muriel2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Italy

  Also written Muriël

• Italian given name1.4K records spelled Muriel2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Italy, San Marino

  Also written Muriël

• Thai given name884 records spelled Muriel8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Laos, United States, Thailand, United Kingdom

  Languages: Thai, Lao

  Also written Meriel, เมอเรียล, Muriël, เมอเรยล, Mürïël

• Russian given name821 records spelled Muriel10 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Belgium

  Languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian

  Also written Мюриэль, Муріель, Мюріель, Miuriel, Мюриэл

• Hungarian given name750 records spelled Muriel2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Hungary, United States, United Kingdom, Peru

  Also written Muriël

63 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●

Muriel 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.

• In French, From Celtic elements meaning 'bright sea'; name-day not stated on page.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In French, From Celtic roots, often linked to mor ‘sea’ + ael ‘bright’

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In French, Celtic name, often interpreted 'sea-bright'.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In Ireland this is the English form of Muirgheal, ‘sea bright’. Muriel can also be traced to medieval Brittany and Normandy. It is probably Celtic; Yonge suggests that it comes from Greek and means ‘myrrh’, but this seems unlikely.

  as a name·Irish first names

• In Spanish, from the female personal name Muriel, of Breton origin. This was common in East Anglia during the Middle Ages, where it was introduced by Breton settlers following the Norman invasion.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

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●

• Aileen Rigginb. 1906USnot in their usual nameAmerican diver, swimmer, Olympic gold medalist (1906–2002)
• Lilian Harveyb. 1906GBnot in their usual nameAnglo-German actress and singer
• Muriel Evansb. 1910USAmerican actress, radio personality (1910-2000)
• Muriel Humphrey Brownb. 1912USAmerican politician (1912–1998)
• Muriel Sparkb. 1918GBScottish novelist and writer (1918–2006)
• Beatrice Tinsleyb. 1941USnot in their usual nameNew Zealand astronomer (1941–1981)
• Muriel Robinb. 1955FRFrench actress and comedian
• Muriel Barberyb. 1969FRFrench writer
• Muriel Bowserb. 1972USMayor of the District of Columbia since 2015
• Muriel Baumeisterb. 1972ATAustrian-German actress

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 · 1,030 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Muriel?

We estimate roughly 24 thousand people bear Muriel (counting its spellings and scripts) across 9 countries in our records.

In which country does Muriel have the most bearers?

Muriel is most frequently recorded in France, where it is most often spelled muriel.

How common is Muriel compared with other names?

In France, Muriel is the 256th most common given name of 711,207 given names recorded there.

Is Muriel a male or female name?

Muriel is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Muriel mean?

Recorded meaning: from Celtic Muirgel/Muirgheal ‘sea-bright’, also from residence near a pleasant hill; first attested Ougrim filius Miriel’ 1188 P