Murlin
A rare masculine name of Celtic origin, potentially meaning "little sea-dweller".
Name Census estimates that about 56 living Americans carry the first name Murlin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Murlin today is around 85 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Murlin births was 1927 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Murlin. 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 Murlin is about 85 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Murlins were born before 1951.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Murlin. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
56
~ 1 in 6,120,613 Americans
Peak year
1927
19 babies that year
Average age
85
years old
1953 SSA rank
#3,675
Tracked since 1912
Popularity
Murlin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Murlin from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 116 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
Murlin 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 Murlin 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 Murlin
The given name Murlin has its roots in the Scottish and Irish Gaelic languages. It is believed to have originated in the medieval period, around the 12th or 13th century. The name is derived from the Gaelic word "muir," which means "sea" or "ocean," and the suffix "-lin," which signifies "small" or "diminutive." Thus, the name Murlin can be interpreted as "little sea" or "small ocean."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Murlin can be found in the Annals of Ulster, an ancient chronicle of medieval Irish history. The Annals mention a "Muirlin O'Cathain," who lived in the 14th century and was a member of the influential O'Cahan clan from County Londonderry, Ireland.
Another notable figure bearing the name Murlin was Muirlin O'Mulchallan, a 15th-century Irish poet and historian. He is renowned for his work "The Book of Muirlin," which chronicles the history of the O'Mulchallan family and their ancestral lands in County Antrim.
In the 16th century, a Scottish clergyman named Murlin Moncrieff is recorded as having served as the minister of the parish of Abernethy in Perthshire. He is believed to have lived between 1540 and 1610.
Moving into the 17th century, Murlin Colquhoun was a Scottish landowner who held estates in Argyllshire. He lived from approximately 1620 to 1685 and played a role in the turbulent times of the Scottish Civil War.
In more recent history, Murlin Spencer was an American lawyer and politician from Kentucky. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1853 to 1855 and was born in 1809, living until 1884.
While the name Murlin has become relatively uncommon in modern times, it holds a rich history and heritage deeply rooted in the cultural traditions of Scotland and Ireland. Its connection to the sea and its diminutive form lend it a unique and evocative quality.
People
Murlin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Murlin 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
Murlin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Murlin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 56 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Murlin 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 6,120,613 US residents.
Is Murlin a common name?
We classify Murlin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 56% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 321 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Murlin most popular?
The single biggest year for Murlin was 1927, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Murlin is about 85 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Murlin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Murlin 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.
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.