Merl

Boy · recorded 1886–1986

  • 1986last recorded
  • 1907best year

Most popular in 1907.

Last recorded in 1986. Fewer than five boys a year have been given it since, so it's a true rarity.

Checking your shortlist…

Compare

Meaning

We don’t have a verified meaning for Merl.

We only publish meanings we can cite to a source you could check yourself. Most sites will give you one anyway; the ones you find elsewhere are often copied between sites without verification.

Its story

Popularity since 1886

06212318861911193619611986

Hover over or drag across the chart to see any year.

Per million boys born. Years with fewer than five births are not in the record, so the line breaks rather than dropping to zero.
See the 89 recorded years as a table
Merl, per million boys born. Years absent from the table had fewer than five births.
YearPer million
188663
188779
189189
189249
189353
189543
189675
189771
189841
189994
190166
190241
190359
190455
190653
1907123
190871
190943
191062
191140
191272
191374
191479
191567
191683
191775
191878
191984
192070
192167
192276
192364
192458
192563
192663
192758
192855
192956
193040
193151
193246
193333
193445
193530
193641
193741
193838
193924
194028
194124
194227
194327
194422
194522
194615
194720
194824
194917
195019
195117
195219
195316
19548
195512
195612
195710
195812
19598
19607
196110
19626
196312
19648
19658
19663
19677
19686
19698
19704
19714
19728
19736
19746
19754
19764
19775
19843
19853
19863

Where it’s loved

Most popular in these states

Merl isn’t concentrated in any one state. Either it’s spread evenly, or no state reaches the 25 births over three years needed before a rate means anything.

More like it

More like Merl

The numbers

Every figure

Births in 1986
5
Rank in 1986
#6,721
How rare
1 in 368,303 boys
Since 1886
2,574

Merl was last recorded in 1986. Fewer than five boys have been given the name in any year since, which is the point below which the record stops reporting.

Most popular in 1907, at 123 per million boys born.

There isn’t enough data for a ten-year trend: Merl doesn’t appear in both ends of that window.

Figures from the US Social Security Administration’s 2025 release. How these numbers are made.