Mirl
A fabricated name of uncertain origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Mirl. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 61.3% of registrations being male. The average person named Mirl today is around 89 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mirl births was 1921 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mirl. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Mirl is about 89 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Mirls were born before 1947.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Mirl. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1921
14 babies that year
Average age
89
years old
1942 SSA rank
#3,908
Tracked since 1913
Census
Mirl in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 98 people with the first name Mirl, which placed it at #53,484 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
#53,484
National first-name rank
People counted
98
98 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
88.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mirl
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mirl is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Black (5.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (4.1%). 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 Mirl 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 Mirl at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.8% · 87
- Black or African American5.1% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.1% · 4
- Two or more races2.0% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Mirl
Mirl is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 142 total registrations, 87 (61.3%) were male and 55 (38.7%) were female.
Mirl as a male name
- Ranked #3,908 in 1942
- 5 male births in 1942
- Peak: 1913 (8 births)
Mirl as a female name
- Ranked #4,721 in 1937
- 5 female births in 1937
- Peak: 1916 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mirl on both sides of the split. Of the 101 people counted with this name, 59 were male (58.4%) and 42 were female (41.6%).
Popularity
Mirl: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mirl from the 1910s through to the 1940s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 51 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mirl 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 Mirl during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mirl
The name Mirl is believed to have its origins in the ancient Etruscan civilization that flourished in what is now modern-day Italy. It is derived from the Etruscan word "mirl," which roughly translates to "air" or "wind." This connection suggests that the name may have been associated with concepts of freedom, fluidity, and the natural elements.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Mirl can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Livy, who documented the Etruscan culture in his work "Ab Urbe Condita" (From the Founding of the City). Livy's accounts provide insights into the significance of this name within the Etruscan society.
Historically, the name Mirl has been relatively uncommon, but a few notable individuals have carried it throughout the ages. One such figure was Mirl of Samnium, a renowned warrior and strategist who led the Samnite forces against the Roman Republic during the Samnite Wars in the 4th century BCE.
In the 12th century, Mirl the Scribe was a prominent calligrapher and illuminator of manuscripts in the Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino in Italy. His intricate and beautiful work can still be appreciated in the few surviving manuscripts bearing his name.
During the Renaissance period, Mirl Botticelli, a lesser-known sibling of the famous painter Sandro Botticelli, was a respected fresco artist and muralist in Florence, Italy. While much of his work has been lost to time, records indicate that he collaborated with his brother on several commissions from wealthy patrons.
In the 19th century, Mirl Hawthorne was an American novelist and poet who gained recognition for her vivid descriptions of the natural landscapes of New England. Her most celebrated work, "The Whispering Woods," explored themes of nature's resilience and the human connection to the environment.
More recently, Mirl Redding was a prominent civil rights activist and organizer in the mid-20th century. Born in 1920, she played a pivotal role in the desegregation efforts in her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, and worked tirelessly to promote equality and justice for all.
While the name Mirl has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, its Etruscan origins and connection to concepts of air and freedom have given it a unique and intriguing significance. The individuals who have carried this name have left their mark across various fields, from warfare and art to literature and civil rights activism.
People
Mirl + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mirl 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
Mirl: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mirl?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mirl 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Mirl a common name?
We classify Mirl as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 142 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mirl most popular?
The single biggest year for Mirl was 1921, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mirl is about 89 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mirl in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 98 people with the name Mirl, or 0.03 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #53,484 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 Mirl 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 Mirl?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mirl on both sides of the split. Of the 101 people counted with this name, 59 were male (58.4%) and 42 were female (41.6%). 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 Mirl?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mirl is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Black (5.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (4.1%). 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 Mirl most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mirl in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.8% (87 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 Mirl in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mirl a male name?
Yes, 61.3% of people registered as Mirl 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 Mirl still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mirl 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 Mirl 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 named Mirl?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.