Murielle
Feminine name of French origin meaning "little, bitter one" or "bright, shining one".
Name Census estimates that about 158 living Americans carry the first name Murielle. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Murielle today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Murielle births was 1927 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Murielle. 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
158
~ 1 in 2,169,331 Americans
Peak year
1927
15 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2022 SSA rank
#13,158
Tracked since 1919
Census
Murielle in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 768 people with the first name Murielle, which placed it at #15,091 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
#15,091
National first-name rank
People counted
768
768 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
48.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Murielle
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Murielle is Black at 48.3%. The next largest groups are White (42.7%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Murielle 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 Murielle at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American48.3% · 371
- White42.7% · 328
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 27
- Two or more races3.0% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Popularity
Murielle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Murielle from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 96 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
Murielle 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 Murielle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Murielles live
Origin
Meaning and history of Murielle
The name Murielle is a French feminine form of the Latin name Maurilius, which itself derives from the Roman family name Maurius. The name Maurius likely originated from the Latin word "maurus," meaning "dark-skinned" or "Moorish." This suggests that the name may have been bestowed upon individuals with darker complexions or those with connections to North Africa or the Moorish culture.
The earliest recorded use of the name Murielle dates back to the 12th century in France. During this time, it was often associated with nobility and aristocracy. One notable example is Murielle de Gournay, a French writer and editor born in 1565, who is considered one of the earliest advocates for women's education and rights.
In the 13th century, the name Murielle appeared in various religious texts and records, particularly in connection with the Catholic Church. One such individual was Murielle de Montferrand, a French noblewoman who founded the Cistercian monastery of Notre-Dame de la Ferté in 1239.
Throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance period, the name Murielle remained relatively uncommon but held a certain prestige and association with the upper classes. Notable bearers include Murielle de Berneville, a 14th-century French noblewoman and landowner, and Murielle de Vitry, a 15th-century French poet and courtier.
In more recent history, the name Murielle gained popularity in the 20th century, particularly in France and French-speaking regions. One of the most famous individuals with this name is Murielle Bolle, a Belgian singer and actress born in 1939, known for her roles in French cinema and musicals.
Another notable figure is Murielle Ahouré, an Ivorian sprinter and Olympic medalist born in 1987, who won silver medals in the 60 meters and 100 meters events at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics.
Other notable Murielles include Murielle Scharre, a French actress and singer born in 1949, Murielle Hermine, a French politician and member of the European Parliament born in 1961, and Murielle Gagnebin, a Swiss ice hockey player and Olympic medalist born in 1988.
People
Murielle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Murielle 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
Murielle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Murielle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 158 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Murielle 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 2,169,331 US residents.
Is Murielle a common name?
We classify Murielle as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 327 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Murielle most popular?
The single biggest year for Murielle was 1927, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Murielle is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Murielle in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 768 people with the name Murielle, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,091 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 Murielle 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 Murielle?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Murielle appears almost entirely female. Of the 759 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Murielle?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Murielle is Black at 48.3%. The next largest groups are White (42.7%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Murielle most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Murielle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.3% (371 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 Murielle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Murielle a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Murielle 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 Murielle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Murielle 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 Murielle 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 Murielle?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Murielle on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.