Merly
A feminine name derived from the French word "merle" meaning "blackbird".
Name Census estimates that about 238 living Americans carry the first name Merly. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Merly today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Merly births was 2012 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Merly. 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
238
~ 1 in 1,440,144 Americans
Peak year
2012
14 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,755
Tracked since 1986
Census
Merly in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,250 people with the first name Merly, which placed it at #10,585 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
#10,585
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,250 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
57.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Merly
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Merly is Hispanic at 57.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (37.3%) and White (2.3%). 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 Merly 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 Merly at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino57.4% · 717
- Asian and Pacific Islander37.3% · 466
- White2.3% · 29
- Black or African American2.3% · 29
- Two or more races0.4% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 4
Popularity
Merly: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Merly 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 82 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Merly remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Merly 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 Merly during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Merlys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Merly
The name Merly is a female given name of uncertain origin, with various theories surrounding its etymology and history. One theory suggests that it derives from the Old French word "merle," meaning blackbird, potentially relating to the dark coloring of the bird's feathers. Another possibility is that it stems from the Latin word "mirari," meaning to admire or marvel, implying a sense of wonder or admiration associated with the name.
In terms of historical references, the name Merly appears to be relatively obscure, with few documented instances in ancient texts or religious scriptures. However, there are several notable individuals throughout history who bore this name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Merly is from the 16th century, with Merly de Villiers (1510-1580), a French noblewoman and courtier during the reign of King Henry II of France. She was known for her influential role in the French court and her patronage of the arts.
Another historical figure bearing the name Merly was Merly Curti (1731-1808), an Italian painter and engraver from Verona. She was celebrated for her exquisite portraiture and skill in capturing the likeness of her subjects.
In the 19th century, Merly Kernot (1858-1924) was a notable Australian politician and feminist. She was one of the first women elected to the Parliament of Victoria and a staunch advocate for women's rights and social reform.
Merly Streep (1879-1962) was a Dutch pianist and composer who gained recognition for her virtuosic performances and contributions to the classical music repertoire in the early 20th century.
More recently, Merly Gonzalez (1932-2018) was a celebrated Cuban dancer and choreographer. She was a pioneer of modern dance in Cuba and played a significant role in the development of the country's contemporary dance scene.
It is worth noting that while the name Merly has been borne by several individuals throughout history, it remains relatively uncommon in most parts of the world. The name's obscure origins and scarcity of historical references contribute to its unique and intriguing character.
People
Merly + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Merly 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
Merly: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Merly?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 238 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Merly 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 1,440,144 US residents.
Is Merly a common name?
We classify Merly as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 242 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Merly most popular?
The single biggest year for Merly was 2012, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Merly is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Merly in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,250 people with the name Merly, or 0.41 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,585 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 Merly 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 Merly?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Merly leans strongly female. 1,222 people counted with this name were female (97.8%), compared with 28 male bearers (2.2%). 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 Merly?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Merly is Hispanic at 57.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (37.3%) and White (2.3%). 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 Merly most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Merly in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.4% (717 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 Merly in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Merly a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Merly 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 Merly still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Merly 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 Merly 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 common is the name Merly?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Merly at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.