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Merel

UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Blackbird

Merel has been given to 240 babies in the U.S. since 1913. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1926, with 14 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 85% boys, 15% girls all-time.

Babies named Merel, 1971

1 in 572,000

Merel over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
05101518801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Merel over time

In 1971, Merel went to 0% girls and 100% boys.

19131971

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Merel: meaning, origin, and history

Blackbird

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Merel means

Merel means “blackbird”, associated with merel.

Origin, language, and formation

Merel is used in Dutch.

Pronunciation and spelling

In Dutch, Merel is pronounced /ˈmeː.rəl/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 205 boys were recorded with the name Merel between 1913 and 1971. Its highest annual count was 14 in 1926; its best national rank was #2,270 in 1926.

In the United States, 35 girls were recorded with the name Merel between 1920 and 1955. Its highest annual count was 9 in 1920; its best national rank was #3,070 in 1939.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Merel?

Merel had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 1971, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 1971
1 in 572,000
6 of 3,432,187 births
Among boys only
1 in 295,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 1971
Unranked
Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size
396,503 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Merel sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 1971 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 396,503 children born in 1971 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Merel. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Merels were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Merel was born before 1929 — so the typical Merel is around 96 today.

Median birth year
1929
About 96 years old
Biggest decade
1920s
41.0% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
17.1%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
18
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1920s — 41.0% of all recorded uses (84).

Is Merel rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
—
Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago
New entry
Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago
—
Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago
—
Not published both years
Share of its own peak
0%
Peak was 1926 (14)
Years since peak
99
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
22.8% average annual change
Best rank ever
#2,270
1926

Spellings of Merel

Merel is not the most common spelling — Derek is, with 58.7% against Merel's 0.05%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Merel around the world

Where Merel ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1997–1997
    #3,824
    in 1997

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics. ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0.

Merel by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#2,270
1926
Peak year
1926
14 that year
First recorded
1913
Last recorded
1971
All-time count
205
Count in 2025
Under 5

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#3,070
1939
Peak year
1920
9 that year
First recorded
1920
Last recorded
1955
All-time count
35
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Merel

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

MerrelMeritMercyMericMerikMerickMerrikMerciAurelHarelBerelMercuryYarelMerilMertMerekMerylMerritMerlonMerricAzarelMerionKarelArel

Sibling names for Merel

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Merel

Top names of 1926, Merel's peak yearThe 1920s in fullOther names that peaked in 1926Boys' names starting with MDutch Girl Names