Merle

MURL

French

"blackbird"

Merle Origin and Meaning

The name Merle is a boy's name of French origin meaning "blackbird".

Originally a nickname for someone who loved to sing or whistle, Merle is sleek but gentle, with a hint of great grandpa about it..

Merle Rank in US Top 1000

# 993 in the US

Popularity of the name Merle

• 724 Nameberry 2025

20 Names Similar to Merle

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Merle.

• Hershel
• Beaumont
• Ludo
• Toulouse
• Redmond
• Whittaker
• Heathcliff
• Bardo
• Rueben
• Maxfield
• Beauregard
• Digby
• Newt
• Zebedee
• Guthrie
• Jem
• Gatsby
• Baz
• Gable
• Willoughby

Famous People Named Merle

• Merle Ronald Haggard American country music singer
• Merle Robert Travis American country music singer
• Merle Eugene Curti American historian and author
• Merle Reid Harmon American sportscaster
• (Wyatt) Merle Kilgore American singer and music manager
• (Eddy) Merle Watson American singer and guitarist; son of singer Doc Watson
• Merle Slease Evans American circus band conductor
• Merle Johnson Jr., birth name of Troy Donahue, American actor

The name Merle in Pop Culture

• Merle Dixon character on TV's "The Walking Dead"
• Merle Highchurch a main character in podcast "The Adventure Zone"
• Merle "The Pearl" Stockwell character on "Eight is Enough"