Recorded 1880–2023 Girls' name Peak 1918 136,478 births

Myrtle — girls' name

136,478 babies named Myrtle in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1918. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s97691890s177171900s196911910s324321920s305691930s141341940s72741950s31061960s11661970s3561980s1531990s622000s62010s312020s12
1910s
Peak decade

24% of everyone ever named Myrtle was born in this single decade.

1918
Single peak year

4,076 babies were named Myrtle in 1918 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Myrtle

The Social Security Administration has registered 136,478 babies named Myrtle between 1880 and 2023, spanning 144 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Myrtle currently falls outside the top 1,000 girls' names for 2023. The name reached its historical peak in 1918, when 4,076 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Myrtle performed strongest in the 1910s, accumulating 32,432 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Myrtle shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in North Carolina, which accounts for 6,418 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Texas and Kentucky. In total, SSA state-level files list Myrtle in 50 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Myrtle 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 136,478 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.

Myrtle at a glance

Last recorded 2023

Total births

136,478

Since 1880

144 years of records

Peak year

1918

4,076 births that year

Strongest decade: 1910s

Current rank

Unranked

Outside the modern top-1,000

As of 2023

Active since

1880

Recorded for 144 years

Last year on file: 2023

Myrtle popularity over time — girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2023–1880

Last recorded 2023
Peak year (1918)
4,076
Annual births at peak — across 144 years of records
-1,00001,0002,0003,0004,0005,000 202319881972195619401924190818921880 615

Myrtle popularity over time — boys

498 total births recorded since 1880 (Myrtle as boys' name)

Unisex variant — 498 births
0510152025 194319341927192019131906189618891880 5

Myrtle by decade

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

Peak: 1910s
Peak decade
1910s
32,432 births that decade — 24% of Myrtle's all-time total
1880s97691890s177171900s196911910s324321920s305691930s141341940s72741950s31061960s11661970s3561980s1531990s622000s62010s312020s12

Myrtle by state

Where Myrtle concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Myrtle
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 North Carolina
6,418 4.7%
#2 Texas
5,846 4.3%
#3 Kentucky
4,634 3.4%
#4 Alabama
4,306 3.2%
#5 Pennsylvania
4,117 3.0%
#6 Virginia
3,876 2.8%
#7 Tennessee
3,787 2.8%
#8 Louisiana
3,535 2.6%
North Carolina share of Myrtle's total US births 4.7%
Even split

6,418 of 136,478 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 50 reporting states.

Myrtle appears in 50 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Myrtle?
136,478 babies have been named Myrtle since 1880. It was last recorded in 2023. The peak year was 1918 with 4,076 births.
When was Myrtle most popular?
Myrtle was most popular in the 1910s decade with 32,432 total births. The single peak year was 1918.
Where is Myrtle most popular?
The top states for the name Myrtle are North Carolina (6,418 births), Texas (5,846 births), Kentucky (4,634 births).
How long has the name Myrtle been used?
Myrtle has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 144 years of data through 2023.
What names are similar to Myrtle?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Myra, Myrna, Myrtis, Myranda, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

Keep exploring Myrtle

Nearby Names Like Myrtle

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Myrtle

Names with a similar number of total births

Baby Name Guides

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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, 1880–2023 (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.