Merle

MURL

French

"blackbird"

Merle Origin and Meaning

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

A sleek, smooth, understated name off the grid in the US but among the Top 100 girl names in Germany. In the US, it is a unisex name, while in Germany and the Netherlands, it is predominantly feminine.

Merle Rank in US Top 1000

# 986 in the US

Popularity of the name Merle

• 1527 Nameberry 2025
• 57 Germany 2024
• 143 Netherlands 2015
• 42 Denmark 2023
• 53 Estonia 2024

20 Names Similar to Merle

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

• Shoshanna
• Sojourner
• Zelma
• Florian
• Paz
• Angelou
• Galilee
• Sigourney
• Novella
• Beryl
• Verna
• Lourdes
• Zsazsa
• Maxima
• Pascale
• Begonia
• Milou
• Matisse
• Perla
• Peri

Famous People Named Merle

• Merle Oberon (born Estelle Merle O'Brien Thompson) Anglo,Indian actress
• Merle Greene Robertson American artist and academic
• Merle Dandridge American actress and singer
• Merle Louise Letowt American actress and singer
• Merle Park British ballerina
• Merle Bergers Dutch model
• Merle Ginsberg American fashion writer, judge on RuPaul's Drag Race

The name Merle in Pop Culture

• Merle Kinbona 'woman of Bournehills, a representation of Barbados' in The Chosen Place, the Timeless People (1969) by Paule Marshall