Recorded 1908–1955 Boys' name Peak 1922 259 births

Merrel — boys' name

259 babies named Merrel in U.S. Social Security records since 1908, with the highest year being 1922. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1900s61910s591920s891930s491940s461950s10
1920s
Peak decade

34% of everyone ever named Merrel was born in this single decade.

1922
Single peak year

15 babies were named Merrel in 1922 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Merrel

The Social Security Administration has registered 259 babies named Merrel between 1908 and 1955, spanning 48 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Merrel currently falls outside the top 1,000 boys' names for 1955. The name reached its historical peak in 1922, when 15 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Merrel performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 89 births during that ten-year window. Across the 6 decades of recorded activity, Merrel shows a clear decline from its mid-century high.

No etymological entry is currently available for Merrel in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 259 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Merrel at a glance

Last recorded 1955

Total births

259

Since 1908

48 years of records

Peak year

1922

15 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

Unranked

Outside the modern top-1,000

As of 1955

Active since

1908

Recorded for 48 years

Last year on file: 1955

Merrel popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1955–1908

Last recorded 1955
Peak year (1922)
15
Annual births at peak — across 48 years of records
05101520 19551945193819311925192019151908 6

Merrel popularity over time — girls

10 total births recorded since 1917 (Merrel as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 10 births
5 19401917 5

Merrel by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
89 births that decade — 34% of Merrel's all-time total
1900s61910s591920s891930s491940s461950s10

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Merrel?
259 babies have been named Merrel since 1908. It was last recorded in 1955. The peak year was 1922 with 15 births.
When was Merrel most popular?
Merrel was most popular in the 1920s decade with 89 total births. The single peak year was 1922.
How long has the name Merrel been used?
Merrel has been recorded in Social Security data since 1908, spanning 48 years of data through 1955.
What names are similar to Merrel?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Merle, Merlin, Merrill, Mervin, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1908–1955 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.