Name Awesome

Merlyn

#11,530 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Variant of Merlin

Merlyn has been given to 5,045 babies in the U.S. since 1908. In 2025 it ranked #11,530 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1930, with 137 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 68% boys, 32% girls all-time.

Babies named Merlyn, 2025

1 in 553,000

Merlyn over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
05010015018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.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 — Merlyn over time

In 2025, Merlyn went to 54% girls and 46% boys.

19082025

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.

Merlyn: meaning, origin, and history

Variant of Merlin

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Merlyn means

Merlyn is a variant of Merlin.

Documented naming usage and pronunciation

Merlyn is used in English.

Another recorded pronunciation is /ˈmɜɹ.lɪn/ and /ˈmɜː.lɪn/ for Merlyn.

Meaning behind the documented name family

The name developed through Merlyn → Merlin. The family’s meaning is “sea-hill”, recorded in English with the source elements Mor-ðin.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Merlin.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 3,410 boys were recorded with the name Merlyn between 1908 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 137 in 1930; its best national rank was #509 in 1931.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #13,390 in 2020 to #11,530 in 2025.

In the United States, 1,635 girls were recorded with the name Merlyn between 1912 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 41 in 1925; its best national rank was #1,160 in 1936.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #8,767 in 2020 to #12,736 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #9,320 in 2015 to #12,736 in 2025.

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 Merlyn?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 553,000
6 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 285,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#11,530
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
382,984 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Merlyn 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 2025 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 382,984 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Merlyn. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Merlyns were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Merlyn was born before 1935 — so the typical Merlyn is around 90 today.

Median birth year
1935
About 90 years old
Biggest decade
1930s
32.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
2.1%
Mostly a past generation
Recorded since 1950
615
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1930s — 32.1% of all recorded uses (1,095).

Is Merlyn 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
+1,860
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
—
Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago
—
Not published both years
Share of its own peak
4.4%
Peak was 1930 (137)
Years since peak
95
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
17.5% average annual change
Best rank ever
#509
1931

Spellings of Merlyn

Merlyn is not the most common spelling — Marlon is, with 21.1% against Merlyn's 2.3%.

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.

Where Merlyn is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Merlyn was most concentrated in South Dakota — about 1 in 3,448 boys, against 1 in 46,836 across all states with data. It was least common in Utah (1 in —).

029 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1South Dakota1 in 3,448
  2. 2Iowa1 in 4,167
  3. 3Minnesota1 in 8,333
  4. 4Nebraska1 in 8,333
  5. 5North Dakota1 in 14,286
  6. 6Wisconsin1 in 16,667
  7. 7Kansas1 in 33,333
  8. 8Illinois1 in 100,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Merlyn has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Where Merlyn is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Merlyn was most concentrated in North Dakota — about 1 in 100,000 girls, against 1 in 299,988 across all states with data. It was least common in Minnesota (1 in —).

01 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1North Dakota1 in 100,000
  2. 2California1 in —
  3. 3Louisiana1 in —
  4. 4Michigan1 in —
  5. 5Minnesota1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Merlyn has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Merlyn around the world

Where Merlyn 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
    2005–2023
    #4,992
    in 2023

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

Notable people named Merlyn

People whose public names include Merlyn, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Merlyn by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#11,530
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 1,860
Best rank ever
#509
1931
Peak year
1930
137 that year
First recorded
1908
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
3,410
Count in 2025
6

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#12,736
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 3,969
Best rank ever
#1,160
1936
Peak year
1925
41 that year
First recorded
1912
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,635
Count in 2025
7

Names similar to Merlyn

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

MercerMerrickMervinMerrittMertonMerlinEvelynJaylynMerwinMervynMerrillJaelynMerrikArlynMerrilDaelynJalynCollynDeklynMerwynJailynMercedMerickMarlyn

Names with a curve like Merlyn

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Merlyn, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

KayDorisDorothyBettyJoyceCarrolVirginiaNormandRoseveltClaudieHermonArvil

Sibling names for Merlyn

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 Merlyn

Top names of 1930, Merlyn's peak yearThe 1930s in fullOther names that peaked in 1931Boys' names starting with M