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Murphy

#754 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Descendant of Murrough

Murphy has been given to 13,174 babies in the U.S. since 1881. In 2025 it ranked #754 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2025, with 341 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 64% boys, 36% girls all-time.

Babies named Murphy, 2025

1 in 9,720

Murphy over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.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

In 2025, Murphy went to 70% girls and 30% boys.

18812025

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.

Murphy: meaning, origin, and history

Descendant of Murrough

surname transfer

What Murphy means

Murphy means “descendant of Murrough”, associated with Murchadha.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From Irish Ó Murchadha (“descendant of Murrough”), Mac Murchaidh (“Son of Murrough”), etc. See Muircath.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Murphy (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Murphy is used in English. Its origins include surname transfer.

Murphy comes through Irish Ó Murchadha.

Murphy is recorded as a surname transferred into given-name use.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Murphy is pronounced /ˈmɜɹfi/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 8,486 boys were recorded with the name Murphy between 1881 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 341 in 2025; its best national rank was #510 in 1892.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #967 in 2020 to #754 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #1,230 in 2015 to #754 in 2025.

In the United States, 4,688 girls were recorded with the name Murphy between 1898 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 783 in 2025; its best national rank was #397 in 2025.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #979 in 2020 to #397 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #2,161 in 2015 to #397 in 2025.

How common is Murphy?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 9,720
341 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 5,010
0.02% of boys
Rank, 2025
#754
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
6,740 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Murphy 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 1001%
School of 5005%

Put another way: gather 6,740 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Murphy. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Murphys were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Murphy was born before 1988 — so the typical Murphy is around 37 today.

Median birth year
1988
About 37 years old
Biggest decade
2020s
19.0% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
42.0%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
5,829
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2020s — 19.0% of all recorded uses (1,613).

Is Murphy 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
+62
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+213
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+476
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
2.29×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
100.0%
Peak was 2025 (341)
Years since peak
Peaking now
At its all-time high
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
14.5% average annual change
Best rank ever
#510
1892

Spellings of Murphy

Murphy is not the most common spelling — Murray is, with 65.4% against Murphy's 25.3%.

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 Murphy is used — boys

Across 2016–2025, Murphy was most concentrated in Minnesota — about 1 in 2,941 boys, against 1 in 8,109 across all states with data. It was least common in Maryland (1 in 50,000).

234 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Minnesota1 in 2,941
  2. 2Missouri1 in 3,226
  3. 3Wisconsin1 in 4,000
  4. 4Colorado1 in 5,000
  5. 5Michigan1 in 5,000
  6. 6Tennessee1 in 5,000
  7. 7Ohio1 in 5,263
  8. 8Illinois1 in 5,556

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.

Where Murphy is used — girls

Across 2016–2025, Murphy was most concentrated in Montana — about 1 in 690 girls, against 1 in 4,054 across all states with data. It was least common in Connecticut (1 in 20,000).

5145 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Montana1 in 690
  2. 2Iowa1 in 1,538
  3. 3Nebraska1 in 1,538
  4. 4South Dakota1 in 1,613
  5. 5Oklahoma1 in 1,639
  6. 6Idaho1 in 1,754
  7. 7Kansas1 in 1,754
  8. 8North Dakota1 in 2,000

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.

Murphy around the world

Where Murphy 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
    1997–2025
    #593
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    2009–2025
    #762
    in 2025
  • France
    1980–2025
    #3,800
    in 2025
  • Canada
    1991–2024
    #1,144
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1989–2013
    #499
    in 2013

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Murphy

People whose public names include Murphy, 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.

Murphy by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#754
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 213
Best rank ever
#510
1892
Peak year
2025
341 that year
First recorded
1881
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
8,486
Count in 2025
341

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#397
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 582
Best rank ever
#397
2025
Peak year
2025
783 that year
First recorded
1898
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
4,688
Count in 2025
783

Names similar to Murphy

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

MurrayMuradMurryMurielMurrelMurtazaMuratMurrellMurlMuriloMurlinMurelMurvinMurdockMurleMurdochMuriceMurariMurrielMurdocMurvelMurlynMurtonMursal

Names with a curve like Murphy

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

AugustineWylieDenverBenedictFletcherHollandHanselHamptonMacAurelioEnochRush

Sibling names for Murphy

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 Murphy

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