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Murphy

Irish
"sea warrior"
Madison Dresler
By Madison Dresler
Updated Mon Sep 22 2025

Murphy Origin and Meaning

The name Murphy is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "sea warrior".

This jaunty Celtic surname -- the most common family name in both Ireland and the US -- is totally viable as a first. The arguably most famous Murphy is TV's Murphy Brown, and indeed the name is twice as common for baby girls as for baby boys today. But still, it's solidly gender neutral and works equally well for all sexes.

There have been countless notable surnamed Murphys, including the currently prominent Eddie and Cillian. Murphy was the eponymous protagonist of Samuel Beckett's first published novel.

One possible negative: the association with Murphy's Law--if anything can go wrong, it will.

# 815 in the US

Murphy Rank in US Top 1000

# 305 on Nameberry

Murphy Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Murphy

20 Names Similar to Murphy

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

Famous People Named Murphy

  • Murphy Jensen
    American tennis player
  • Murphy Lee
    stage name of Torhi Harper, American rapper
  • Murphy James Foster
    Jr., American politician, former governor of Louisiana
  • Murphy Anderson
    American comic book artist
  • Murphy aka Mikael Judas (born Michael Cole)
    American pro wrestler
  • Koltyn Murphy Locke (b. 2015)
    son of Kiptyn Locke from The Bachelor

The name Murphy in Pop Culture

  • "Murphy
    " novel by Samuel Beckett and main character
  • Murphy MacManus
    character in movie "Boondock Saints"
  • Murphy
    character in movie "Ghost Brigade"
  • Murphy Pendleton
    character in video game "Silent Hill: Downpour"
  • Murphy's law
    most commonly "Anything that can go wrong, will"
  • Murphy McNully
    character in Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

The name Murphy in Nameberry Blog Posts