Murry
A name of Scottish origin possibly referring to moors or Scottish heaths.
Name Census estimates that about 1,075 living Americans carry the first name Murry. It is a predominantly male name (97.0% of registrations). The average person named Murry today is around 68 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Murry births was 1917 (99 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Murry. 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
- • Although Murry is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 94 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • The typical person named Murry is about 68 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Murrys were born before 1968.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 318,841 Americans
Peak year
1917
99 babies that year
Average age
68
years old
2021 SSA rank
#6,155
Tracked since 1882
Census
Murry in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,131 people with the first name Murry, which placed it at #11,373 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
#11,373
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,131 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
65.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Murry
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Murry is White at 65.9%. The next largest groups are Black (28.1%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Murry 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 Murry at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.9% · 745
- Black or African American28.1% · 318
- Two or more races2.0% · 23
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 11
Gender
Gender distribution for Murry
Murry leans heavily male at 97.0% of total registrations, but 94 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Murry as a male name
- Ranked #13,457 in 2021
- 5 male births in 2021
- Peak: 1917 (94 births)
Murry as a female name
- Ranked #6,155 in 1952
- 5 female births in 1952
- Peak: 1927 (12 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Murry leans strongly male. 1,044 people counted with this name were male (92.6%), compared with 84 female bearers (7.4%).
Popularity
Murry: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Murry from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 716 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
Murry 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 Murry during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Murrys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. New York, Mississippi, Texas recorded the most babies named Murry, while Kentucky, Florida, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 83 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Murry
The given name Murry has its origins in the Scottish Gaelic language, where it was derived from the word "muire," meaning "sea." It is believed to have emerged as a name during the Middle Ages, particularly in the regions of Scotland and Ireland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Murry can be found in the ancient Scottish Gaelic manuscript "The Book of Deer," dated around the 9th century CE. This manuscript contains references to individuals bearing the name, indicating its use among the Celtic population of the time.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Murry MacDonald was recorded as the Chief of Clan Donald, one of the most powerful Scottish clans. His name exemplifies the historical prevalence of the name Murry among Scottish nobility and clan leaders.
During the 16th century, Murry Rose, a renowned Scottish poet and courtier, gained recognition for his literary works. He was born in 1528 and served as a diplomat under King James VI of Scotland.
In the realm of religious history, Saint Murry of Iona, a 7th-century Irish monk and scholar, is remembered for his contributions to the spread of Christianity in Scotland. His name is associated with the famous monastery on the Isle of Iona, which became a center of learning and religious influence.
Moving forward to the 19th century, Murry Bergtraum, a prominent American businessman and philanthropist, left a lasting impact. Born in 1870, he established the Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers in New York City, which continues to operate today.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Murry throughout history, highlighting its Scottish and Irish origins, as well as its presence across various fields, from religion and literature to business and philanthropy.
People
Murry + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Murry 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
Murry: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Murry?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,075 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Murry 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 318,841 US residents.
Is Murry a common name?
We classify Murry as "Rare". It ranks above 90.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,179 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Murry most popular?
The single biggest year for Murry was 1917, when 99 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Murry is about 68 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Murry in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,131 people with the name Murry, or 0.37 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,373 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 Murry 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 Murry?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Murry leans strongly male. 1,044 people counted with this name were male (92.6%), compared with 84 female bearers (7.4%). 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 Murry?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Murry is White at 65.9%. The next largest groups are Black (28.1%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Murry most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Murry in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.9% (745 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 Murry in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Murry a male name?
Yes, 97.0% of people registered as Murry 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 Murry still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Murry 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 Murry 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 Murry?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Murry at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.