Meryl
Meryl was given to 12 girls in 2025, #8,687 among girls’ names; 5,599 Americans have been recorded with it since 1892 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 3,800 Americans named Meryl and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (68% of everyone recorded); the median is 61 years old and half are between 37 and 72.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Meryl by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Meryl mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Meryl is “a female given name from Scottish Gaelic, variant of Muriel.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Meryl?
#8,687 among girls’ names, 2025
Meryl fell from #3,290 in 2015 to #8,687 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 28.0 to 7.5 per million.
156 babies in 1956, the peak
Meryl peaked in 1956, when 156 girls were given it, #794 among girls’ names. The 12 births of 2025 are 8% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 12 | #8,687 | 7.5 |
| 2024 | 23 | #5,551 | 14.2 |
| 2023 | 20 | #6,093 | 12.5 |
| 2022 | 16 | #7,183 | 9.8 |
| 2021 | 17 | #6,879 | 10.4 |
| 2020 | 22 | #5,598 | 13.6 |
| 2019 | 22 | #5,731 | 13.1 |
| 2018 | 25 | #5,274 | 14.7 |
| 2017 | 20 | #6,209 | 11.6 |
| 2016 | 30 | #4,701 | 16.9 |
Every recorded year (128)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 50 | #3,290 | 28.0 |
| 2014 | 29 | #4,856 | 16.2 |
| 2013 | 18 | #6,926 | 10.3 |
| 2012 | 34 | #4,353 | 19.3 |
| 2011 | 17 | #7,318 | 9.7 |
| 2010 | 18 | #7,120 | 10.1 |
| 2009 | 27 | #5,332 | 14.7 |
| 2008 | 17 | #7,632 | 9.0 |
| 2007 | 22 | #6,250 | 11.4 |
| 2006 | 25 | #5,491 | 13.1 |
| 2005 | 25 | #5,201 | 13.5 |
| 2004 | 15 | #7,695 | 8.2 |
| 2003 | 22 | #5,539 | 12.0 |
| 2002 | 20 | #5,822 | 11.1 |
| 2001 | 11 | #9,148 | 6.1 |
| 2000 | 19 | #5,858 | 10.5 |
| 1999 | 24 | #4,678 | 13.5 |
| 1998 | 31 | #3,794 | 17.5 |
| 1997 | 25 | #4,326 | 14.4 |
| 1996 | 26 | #4,140 | 14.8 |
| 1995 | 33 | #3,396 | 18.8 |
| 1994 | 39 | #3,016 | 21.8 |
| 1993 | 33 | #3,387 | 18.2 |
| 1992 | 45 | #2,709 | 24.4 |
| 1991 | 30 | #3,598 | 16.0 |
| 1990 | 49 | #2,473 | 25.8 |
| 1989 | 59 | #2,107 | 32.0 |
| 1988 | 68 | #1,829 | 38.2 |
| 1987 | 65 | #1,804 | 37.4 |
| 1986 | 79 | #1,550 | 46.0 |
| 1985 | 72 | #1,643 | 41.8 |
| 1984 | 71 | #1,590 | 42.2 |
| 1983 | 72 | #1,561 | 43.1 |
| 1982 | 68 | #1,679 | 40.2 |
| 1981 | 46 | #2,217 | 27.6 |
| 1980 | 63 | #1,755 | 37.9 |
| 1979 | 24 | #3,407 | 15.0 |
| 1978 | 12 | #5,425 | 7.8 |
| 1977 | 7 | #8,091 | 4.6 |
| 1976 | 17 | #3,901 | 11.6 |
| 1975 | 14 | #4,498 | 9.6 |
| 1974 | 18 | #3,650 | 12.3 |
| 1973 | 21 | #3,190 | 14.4 |
| 1972 | 31 | #2,382 | 20.4 |
| 1971 | 21 | #3,229 | 12.6 |
| 1970 | 34 | #2,292 | 19.4 |
| 1969 | 46 | #1,826 | 27.3 |
| 1968 | 37 | #1,989 | 22.6 |
| 1967 | 34 | #2,029 | 20.6 |
| 1966 | 45 | #1,688 | 26.6 |
| 1965 | 51 | #1,567 | 28.9 |
| 1964 | 65 | #1,398 | 34.3 |
| 1963 | 78 | #1,246 | 40.5 |
| 1962 | 76 | #1,272 | 38.6 |
| 1961 | 79 | #1,247 | 39.1 |
| 1960 | 100 | #1,078 | 49.5 |
| 1959 | 108 | #1,019 | 53.4 |
| 1958 | 94 | #1,086 | 46.7 |
| 1957 | 141 | #855 | 69.0 |
| 1956 | 156 | #794 | 77.7 |
| 1955 | 125 | #869 | 63.9 |
| 1954 | 143 | #784 | 73.6 |
| 1953 | 132 | #801 | 70.2 |
| 1952 | 141 | #750 | 76.0 |
| 1951 | 119 | #822 | 66.1 |
| 1950 | 124 | #779 | 72.4 |
| 1949 | 125 | #772 | 73.1 |
| 1948 | 112 | #826 | 66.0 |
| 1947 | 97 | #902 | 54.7 |
| 1946 | 70 | #1,010 | 44.5 |
| 1945 | 69 | #912 | 52.8 |
| 1944 | 45 | #1,182 | 33.9 |
| 1943 | 31 | #1,514 | 22.2 |
| 1942 | 33 | #1,430 | 24.4 |
| 1941 | 30 | #1,438 | 24.8 |
| 1940 | 15 | #2,179 | 13.1 |
| 1939 | 31 | #1,341 | 28.3 |
| 1938 | 25 | #1,535 | 22.7 |
| 1937 | 16 | #2,068 | 15.0 |
| 1936 | 37 | #1,178 | 35.6 |
| 1935 | 25 | #1,502 | 23.8 |
| 1934 | 22 | #1,636 | 21.1 |
| 1933 | 28 | #1,390 | 27.8 |
| 1932 | 29 | #1,416 | 27.2 |
| 1931 | 40 | #1,143 | 37.6 |
| 1930 | 37 | #1,244 | 32.9 |
| 1929 | 30 | #1,410 | 26.9 |
| 1928 | 41 | #1,198 | 35.5 |
| 1927 | 25 | #1,710 | 21.0 |
| 1926 | 36 | #1,320 | 30.4 |
| 1925 | 35 | #1,366 | 28.8 |
| 1924 | 36 | #1,376 | 28.8 |
| 1923 | 37 | #1,296 | 30.7 |
| 1922 | 22 | #1,874 | 18.3 |
| 1921 | 21 | #1,965 | 17.0 |
| 1920 | 32 | #1,432 | 26.7 |
| 1919 | 18 | #2,035 | 15.9 |
| 1918 | 29 | #1,484 | 25.1 |
| 1917 | 29 | #1,394 | 26.8 |
| 1916 | 22 | #1,664 | 21.1 |
| 1915 | 19 | #1,772 | 19.3 |
| 1914 | 16 | #1,709 | 21.0 |
| 1913 | 18 | #1,389 | 28.8 |
| 1912 | 21 | #1,167 | 37.6 |
| 1911 | 8 | #1,901 | 19.1 |
| 1910 | 8 | #1,884 | 20.2 |
| 1909 | 5 | #2,426 | 14.4 |
| 1908 | 9 | #1,509 | 26.9 |
| 1906 | 8 | #1,513 | 27.1 |
| 1905 | 8 | #1,497 | 27.4 |
| 1903 | 7 | #1,530 | 26.7 |
| 1902 | 7 | #1,543 | 26.5 |
| 1901 | 5 | #1,865 | 20.9 |
| 1898 | 9 | #1,235 | 34.8 |
| 1897 | 6 | #1,495 | 25.6 |
| 1896 | 5 | #1,747 | 21.0 |
| 1893 | 5 | #1,585 | 23.5 |
| 1892 | 6 | #1,400 | 28.3 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Meryl a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 5,599 Americans recorded as Meryl, 92% are girls and 8% boys. In 2025 it went to 12 girls; SSA lists no boys with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Meryl: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Meryl, and how old are they?
3,800 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 68% of the 5,599 Americans ever recorded as Meryl. The median Meryl alive today is 61 years old; half are between 37 and 72.
The 2020 Census counted 4,475 people named Meryl (4,230 women and girls, 245 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 4,016 born in the U.S. The Census count is 11% 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 | 210 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,660 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 442 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 830 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 348 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 302 |
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 Meryl born?
The states with the most babies named Meryl are New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, with 84% of its births recorded by state since 1910; New Jersey is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 1,671 | not ranked | 3.6× |
| New Jersey | 221 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Pennsylvania | 158 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Massachusetts | 126 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Illinois | 107 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| California | 105 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| Florida | 16 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Louisiana | 15 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Michigan | 12 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Ohio | 5 | not ranked | 0.0× |
Where Meryl is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Meryl is most over-represented in New York: since 1910 it was given 3.6 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 girls’ 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 Meryl 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 5 names spelled alike, given to 6,545 babies since 1880, Meryl is the most given (86% of them). In 2025 it was given to 12 of their 28 babies (43%), the second most given that year.
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 Meryl
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 Meryl and names like it
- Compare Meryl and MerielBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sMeryl peaked in 1956.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Meryl since 1910.
- The top names of 1956The year the most babies were named Meryl.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Meryl alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with MMost given first.