Merlyn
Bird of the shining sea, symbolizing grace and wisdom.
Name Census estimates that about 1,858 living Americans carry the first name Merlyn. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 67.7% of registrations being male. The average person named Merlyn today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Merlyn births was 1930 (159 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Merlyn. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Merlyn with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Merlyn started out as a boys' name but over the decades crossed over and is now given to girls far more often.
People living today
1.9K
~ 1 in 184,475 Americans
Peak year
1930
159 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
2022 SSA rank
#10,493
Tracked since 1908
Census
Merlyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,732 people with the first name Merlyn, which placed it at #4,829 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
#4,829
National first-name rank
People counted
3.7K
3,732 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
44.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Merlyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Merlyn is White at 44.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (17.7%). 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 Merlyn 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 Merlyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White44.0% · 1,641
- Hispanic or Latino24.3% · 906
- Asian and Pacific Islander17.7% · 661
- Black or African American12.1% · 453
- Two or more races1.3% · 50
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 21
Gender
Gender distribution for Merlyn
Merlyn is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 5,030 total registrations, 3,404 (67.7%) were male and 1,626 (32.3%) were female.
Merlyn as a male name
- Ranked #10,493 in 2022
- 7 male births in 2022
- Peak: 1930 (137 births)
Merlyn as a female name
- Ranked #16,823 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1925 (41 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Merlyn on both sides of the split. Of the 3,737 people counted with this name, 1,373 were male (36.7%) and 2,364 were female (63.3%).
Popularity
Merlyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Merlyn from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 1,392 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Merlyn 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 Merlyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Merlyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin recorded the most babies named Merlyn, while Utah, New York, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 115 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Merlyn
The name Merlyn originates from the Brythonic Celtic language spoken in ancient Britain, derived from the Welsh words "mor" meaning "sea" and "llyn" meaning "lake" or "pool". It is believed to have been a common name among the ancient Britons, particularly in areas near the coast or lakes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Merlyn is found in the Arthurian legends, where it is the name given to the wizard and mentor of King Arthur. In these tales, which date back to the 12th century, Merlyn is depicted as a powerful sorcerer who guides and advises the young Arthur on his path to becoming the legendary king.
The name Merlyn has also been linked to the historical figure of Myrddin Wyllt, a 6th century poet and prophet from the region of Cumbria in northern England. According to legends, Myrddin was known for his prophetic abilities and his connection to nature, which may have influenced the portrayal of the character Merlyn in the Arthurian stories.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Merlyn. One of the most famous was Merlyn Rees (1920-2006), a British politician who served as the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979. Another was Merlyn Sheldrake (1923-2022), an English-born Canadian writer and teacher who published several books of poetry and children's literature.
In the realm of literature, the name Merlyn has been used by authors such as T.H. White in his novel "The Once and Future King" (1958), where the character of Merlyn is portrayed as a wise and eccentric wizard who guides the young Arthur. The name has also been used in various fantasy and science fiction works, often as a nod to the Arthurian legends.
While the name Merlyn has its roots in ancient Celtic culture, it has transcended its origins and has been adopted by various cultures and societies throughout history, serving as a reminder of the enduring influence of the Arthurian legends and the fascination with the mystical and supernatural.
People
Merlyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Merlyn 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
Merlyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Merlyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,858 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Merlyn 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 184,475 US residents.
Is Merlyn a common name?
We classify Merlyn as "Rare". It ranks above 93.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,030 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Merlyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Merlyn was 1930, when 159 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Merlyn is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Merlyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,732 people with the name Merlyn, or 1.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,829 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 Merlyn 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 Merlyn?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Merlyn on both sides of the split. Of the 3,737 people counted with this name, 1,373 were male (36.7%) and 2,364 were female (63.3%). 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 Merlyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Merlyn is White at 44.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (17.7%). 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 Merlyn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Merlyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.0% (1,641 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 Merlyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Merlyn a male name?
Yes, 67.7% of people registered as Merlyn in the SSA data are male. 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 Merlyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Merlyn 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 Merlyn 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 have Merlyn as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Merlyn, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.