Merlin
Merlin is given to both girls and boys: 14 girls and 59 boys were given it in 2025 (#7,756 among girls’ names and #2,343 among boys’, #4,374 among all names counting both); 15,968 Americans have been recorded with it since 1885 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 6,050 Americans named Merlin and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (38% of everyone recorded); the median is 57 years old and half are between 25 and 74.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Merlin by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Merlin mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Merlin is “a male given name.” Its etymology gives the senses “sea-hill” (literally) and “sea” (*mori) and “stronghold, rampart” (*dūnom).
From Middle English Merlyn, from Medieval Latin Merlinus and Old French Merlin, from Proto-Brythonic *Mor-ðin (literally “sea-hill”), from Proto-Celtic *mori (“sea”) + *dūnom (“stronghold, rampart”).
/ˈmɝlɪn/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Merlin?
#2,343 among boys’ names, 2025
Merlin rose from #3,283 in 2015 to #2,343 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 18.3 to 34.5 per million.
405 babies in 1927, the peak
Merlin peaked in 1927, when 405 babies were given it (389 boys, #288 among boys’ names). The 73 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 18% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 59 | #2,343 | 0.03 |
| 2024 | 73 | #2,072 | 0.04 |
| 2023 | 62 | #2,284 | 0.04 |
| 2022 | 49 | #2,701 | 0.03 |
| 2021 | 70 | #2,091 | 0.04 |
| 2020 | 52 | #2,492 | 0.03 |
| 2019 | 53 | #2,513 | 0.03 |
| 2018 | 57 | #2,345 | 0.03 |
| 2017 | 54 | #2,407 | 0.03 |
| 2016 | 40 | #2,966 | 0.02 |
Every recorded year (134)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 35 | #3,283 | 0.02 |
| 2014 | 34 | #3,281 | 0.02 |
| 2013 | 37 | #3,034 | 0.02 |
| 2012 | 39 | #2,987 | 0.02 |
| 2011 | 31 | #3,488 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 24 | #4,193 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 40 | #2,975 | 0.02 |
| 2008 | 40 | #2,987 | 0.02 |
| 2007 | 43 | #2,792 | 0.02 |
| 2006 | 49 | #2,499 | 0.02 |
| 2005 | 37 | #2,879 | 0.02 |
| 2004 | 46 | #2,438 | 0.02 |
| 2003 | 44 | #2,411 | 0.02 |
| 2002 | 43 | #2,394 | 0.02 |
| 2001 | 54 | #1,994 | 0.03 |
| 2000 | 47 | #2,158 | 0.02 |
| 1999 | 49 | #1,980 | 0.03 |
| 1998 | 45 | #2,081 | 0.02 |
| 1997 | 30 | #2,655 | 0.02 |
| 1996 | 39 | #2,163 | 0.02 |
| 1995 | 40 | #2,075 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 28 | #2,658 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 41 | #1,985 | 0.02 |
| 1992 | 33 | #2,280 | 0.02 |
| 1991 | 42 | #1,876 | 0.02 |
| 1990 | 44 | #1,795 | 0.02 |
| 1989 | 27 | #2,442 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 49 | #1,513 | 0.03 |
| 1987 | 39 | #1,722 | 0.02 |
| 1986 | 34 | #1,822 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 44 | #1,518 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 39 | #1,567 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 40 | #1,524 | 0.02 |
| 1982 | 45 | #1,431 | 0.02 |
| 1981 | 42 | #1,490 | 0.02 |
| 1980 | 48 | #1,368 | 0.03 |
| 1979 | 45 | #1,403 | 0.03 |
| 1978 | 48 | #1,318 | 0.03 |
| 1977 | 48 | #1,307 | 0.03 |
| 1976 | 53 | #1,185 | 0.03 |
| 1975 | 48 | #1,237 | 0.03 |
| 1974 | 57 | #1,096 | 0.04 |
| 1973 | 50 | #1,171 | 0.03 |
| 1972 | 71 | #966 | 0.04 |
| 1971 | 65 | #1,012 | 0.04 |
| 1970 | 48 | #1,201 | 0.03 |
| 1969 | 74 | #891 | 0.04 |
| 1968 | 65 | #895 | 0.04 |
| 1967 | 73 | #838 | 0.04 |
| 1966 | 87 | #782 | 0.05 |
| 1965 | 81 | #824 | 0.04 |
| 1964 | 95 | #777 | 0.05 |
| 1963 | 108 | #750 | 0.05 |
| 1962 | 96 | #776 | 0.05 |
| 1961 | 110 | #737 | 0.05 |
| 1960 | 105 | #754 | 0.05 |
| 1959 | 130 | #668 | 0.06 |
| 1958 | 156 | #616 | 0.07 |
| 1957 | 147 | #635 | 0.07 |
| 1956 | 150 | #621 | 0.07 |
| 1955 | 175 | #557 | 0.08 |
| 1954 | 151 | #601 | 0.07 |
| 1953 | 158 | #567 | 0.08 |
| 1952 | 156 | #561 | 0.08 |
| 1951 | 176 | #513 | 0.09 |
| 1950 | 175 | #506 | 0.10 |
| 1949 | 150 | #544 | 0.08 |
| 1948 | 155 | #533 | 0.09 |
| 1947 | 163 | #530 | 0.09 |
| 1946 | 207 | #442 | 0.13 |
| 1945 | 187 | #437 | 0.14 |
| 1944 | 208 | #420 | 0.15 |
| 1943 | 266 | #375 | 0.19 |
| 1942 | 217 | #419 | 0.16 |
| 1941 | 258 | #364 | 0.21 |
| 1940 | 249 | #364 | 0.21 |
| 1939 | 245 | #359 | 0.22 |
| 1938 | 284 | #332 | 0.26 |
| 1937 | 257 | #339 | 0.24 |
| 1936 | 274 | #329 | 0.26 |
| 1935 | 308 | #310 | 0.30 |
| 1934 | 283 | #323 | 0.27 |
| 1933 | 302 | #307 | 0.30 |
| 1932 | 314 | #309 | 0.30 |
| 1931 | 363 | #291 | 0.35 |
| 1930 | 333 | #311 | 0.30 |
| 1929 | 328 | #305 | 0.30 |
| 1928 | 307 | #320 | 0.28 |
| 1927 | 389 | #288 | 0.35 |
| 1926 | 368 | #296 | 0.33 |
| 1925 | 343 | #307 | 0.31 |
| 1924 | 337 | #312 | 0.30 |
| 1923 | 266 | #366 | 0.24 |
| 1922 | 328 | #316 | 0.30 |
| 1921 | 342 | #315 | 0.31 |
| 1920 | 314 | #328 | 0.30 |
| 1919 | 251 | #365 | 0.26 |
| 1918 | 268 | #355 | 0.26 |
| 1917 | 230 | #369 | 0.25 |
| 1916 | 220 | #369 | 0.25 |
| 1915 | 179 | #402 | 0.21 |
| 1914 | 127 | #426 | 0.19 |
| 1913 | 85 | #470 | 0.17 |
| 1912 | 76 | #454 | 0.18 |
| 1911 | 33 | #519 | 0.15 |
| 1910 | 23 | #612 | 0.12 |
| 1909 | 20 | #604 | 0.12 |
| 1908 | 30 | #446 | 0.19 |
| 1907 | 21 | #528 | 0.14 |
| 1906 | 12 | #739 | 0.09 |
| 1905 | 10 | #825 | 0.08 |
| 1904 | 14 | #635 | 0.11 |
| 1903 | 9 | #824 | 0.08 |
| 1902 | 14 | #603 | 0.11 |
| 1901 | 7 | #914 | 0.07 |
| 1900 | 8 | #1,018 | 0.05 |
| 1899 | 8 | #837 | 0.08 |
| 1898 | 7 | #957 | 0.06 |
| 1896 | 6 | #1,062 | 0.05 |
| 1895 | 10 | #730 | 0.09 |
| 1891 | 6 | #919 | 0.06 |
| 1890 | 5 | #1,106 | 0.05 |
| 1887 | 8 | #722 | 0.08 |
| 1885 | 6 | #897 | 0.06 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Merlin a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 15,968 Americans recorded as Merlin, 6% are girls and 94% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Merlin: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Merlin, and how old are they?
6,050 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 38% of the 15,968 Americans ever recorded as Merlin. The median Merlin alive today is 57 years old; half are between 25 and 74.
The 2020 Census counted 8,662 people named Merlin (1,922 women and girls, 6,740 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 6,804 born in the U.S. The Census count is 27% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 896 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,830 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 866 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 714 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 902 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 828 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Merlin born?
The states with the most babies named Merlin are Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota, with 36% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Wisconsin and Iowa and Minnesota are not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin | 1,493 | not ranked | 4.0× |
| Iowa | 1,331 | not ranked | 4.6× |
| Minnesota | 877 | not ranked | 2.6× |
| Louisiana | 871 | not ranked | 2.8× |
| Ohio | 653 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Nebraska | 554 | not ranked | 3.3× |
| Michigan | 526 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| California | 503 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Kansas | 484 | not ranked | 2.2× |
| Illinois | 393 | not ranked | 0.5× |
Where Merlin is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Merlin is most over-represented in Iowa: since 1910 it was given 4.6 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Merlin with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 4 names spelled alike, given to 21,259 babies since 1880, Merlin is the most given (75% of them). In 2025 it was given to 73 of their 86 babies (85%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Merlin
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Merlin and names like it
- Compare Merlin and MerlynBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sMerlin peaked in 1927.
- Wisconsin’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Merlin since 1910.
- The top names of 1927The year the most babies were named Merlin.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Merlin alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with MMost given first.