Merlina
Derived from the Latin 'merula', meaning 'blackbird' or 'little blackbird'.
Name Census estimates that about 168 living Americans carry the first name Merlina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Merlina today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Merlina births was 2007 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Merlina. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
168
~ 1 in 2,040,204 Americans
Peak year
2007
31 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,629
Tracked since 1982
Census
Merlina in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 542 people with the first name Merlina, which placed it at #19,479 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#19,479
National first-name rank
People counted
542
542 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
49.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Merlina
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Merlina is Asian/Pacific Islander at 49.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.2%) and White (12.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Merlina described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Merlina at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander49.3% · 267
- Hispanic or Latino26.2% · 142
- White12.2% · 66
- Black or African American8.1% · 44
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.4% · 13
- Two or more races1.8% · 10
Popularity
Merlina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Merlina from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 59 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Merlina remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Merlina by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Merlina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Merlinas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Merlina
The name Merlina is derived from the French name Merlin, which has its roots in the Latin name Merlinus. The name Merlinus is believed to have originated from the Old Welsh name Myrddin, which means "sea fortress" or "sea hill." The earliest known reference to the name Merlina can be traced back to the 12th century, when it was mentioned in the medieval Arthurian legends.
Merlina was a less common variant of the name Merlin, which was popularized by the legendary figure of Merlin the wizard, who appeared in various works of Arthurian literature. The name gained popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly in France and England, where the Arthurian legends were widely known and celebrated.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Merlina was in the 13th century, when a French noblewoman named Merlina de Lusignan lived during the reign of King Louis IX. Merlina de Lusignan was known for her charitable works and her support of the arts and literature.
In the 14th century, a Spanish mystic and spiritual writer named Merlina de la Cruz gained recognition for her religious writings and her teachings on mysticism. Her writings were widely read and influential during her lifetime and in the centuries that followed.
During the Renaissance period, a notable Italian artist named Merlina Veneziano (1490-1560) was known for her intricate and detailed paintings of religious subjects. Her works were highly regarded and can be found in numerous churches and art galleries across Italy.
In the 18th century, a French opera singer named Merlina Garnier (1735-1798) achieved fame for her performances in various operas and concerts throughout Europe. She was particularly renowned for her roles in the works of composers such as Gluck and Piccinni.
Another notable figure with the name Merlina was the 19th-century English writer and poet Merlina Hawkins (1835-1912). Hawkins wrote several volumes of poetry and was also known for her work in promoting education and women's rights.
People
Merlina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Merlina as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Merlina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Merlina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 168 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Merlina going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,040,204 US residents.
Is Merlina a common name?
We classify Merlina as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 170 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Merlina most popular?
The single biggest year for Merlina was 2007, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Merlina is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Merlina in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 542 people with the name Merlina, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,479 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Merlina in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Merlina?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Merlina appears almost entirely female. Of the 536 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Merlina?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Merlina is Asian/Pacific Islander at 49.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.2%) and White (12.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Merlina most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Merlina in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.3% (267 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Merlina in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Merlina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Merlina in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Merlina still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Merlina in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Merlina can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Merlina?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.