Murriel
A French feminine name derived from the Latin Murra, meaning "myrrh".
Name Census estimates that about 99 living Americans carry the first name Murriel. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 81.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Murriel today is around 82 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Murriel births was 1925 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Murriel. 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 Murriel is about 82 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Murriels were born before 1954.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Murriel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
99
~ 1 in 3,462,165 Americans
Peak year
1925
33 babies that year
Average age
82
years old
1955 SSA rank
#4,217
Tracked since 1892
Census
Murriel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 184 people with the first name Murriel, which placed it at #40,443 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
#40,443
National first-name rank
People counted
184
184 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Murriel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Murriel is White at 59.8%. The next largest groups are Black (31.0%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Murriel 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 Murriel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.8% · 110
- Black or African American31.0% · 57
- Two or more races3.8% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Murriel
Murriel leans heavily female at 81.0% of total registrations, but 120 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Murriel as a male name
- Ranked #4,217 in 1955
- 5 male births in 1955
- Peak: 1921 (9 births)
Murriel as a female name
- Ranked #6,603 in 1956
- 5 female births in 1956
- Peak: 1925 (28 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Murriel on both sides of the split. Of the 178 people counted with this name, 47 were male (26.4%) and 131 were female (73.6%).
Popularity
Murriel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Murriel from the 1890s through to the 1950s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 218 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
Murriel 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 Murriel 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 Murriel
The given name Murriel is believed to have its origins in the medieval form of the name Muriel. This name is thought to be derived from the ancient Greek word "myrrha," which means "myrrh," a fragrant gum resin. The myrrh plant was highly valued in ancient times and was often associated with spirituality and religious rites.
Murriel was primarily used in various regions of Europe during the Middle Ages. Some scholars suggest that the name may have been influenced by the Old French word "muire," which means "bitter." This could be a reference to the slightly bitter taste of myrrh.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Murriel can be found in the 12th-century epic poem "The Song of Roland," which mentions a character named Murriel. The name also appears in various medieval manuscripts and records from different regions of Europe.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Murriel. One of the earliest recorded examples is Murriel of Haughton, an English noblewoman who lived in the 13th century. Another notable figure is Murriel de Burgh, an Irish abbess who lived in the 14th century and served as the head of the Cistercian convent in Kilcullen, Ireland.
In the 15th century, Murriel de Gournay was a French writer and philosopher known for her work in defending and promoting the writings of Michel de Montaigne. She was born in 1565 and died in 1645.
In the 19th century, Murriel Strachey was a British writer and translator who lived from 1872 to 1943. She was part of the Bloomsbury Group, a renowned circle of intellectuals and artists in London.
One of the most recent notable individuals with the name Murriel was Murriel Pavlow, an American actress and dancer who lived from 1921 to 2015. She appeared in various Broadway productions and films throughout her career.
While the name Murriel may not be as common today as it once was, its rich history and connection to ancient traditions and literary works ensure that it remains a unique and intriguing choice for those seeking a name with a strong cultural heritage.
People
Murriel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Murriel 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
Murriel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Murriel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 99 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Murriel 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 3,462,165 US residents.
Is Murriel a common name?
We classify Murriel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 633 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Murriel most popular?
The single biggest year for Murriel was 1925, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Murriel is about 82 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Murriel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 184 people with the name Murriel, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,443 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 Murriel 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 Murriel?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Murriel on both sides of the split. Of the 178 people counted with this name, 47 were male (26.4%) and 131 were female (73.6%). 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 Murriel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Murriel is White at 59.8%. The next largest groups are Black (31.0%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Murriel most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Murriel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.8% (110 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 Murriel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Murriel a female name?
Yes, 81.0% of people registered as Murriel 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 Murriel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Murriel 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 Murriel 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 the name Murriel?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.