Humanverse

Murel vs Murl

American parents have registered 2,567 Murls since 1880, against 710 Murels. Neither name reached five babies in 2025.

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Births per year: Murel against Murl, 1880 to 2025 0 25 50 75 100 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Murel Murl

Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.

Who was ahead

Of the 89 years in which either name was published, Murl for 88 years and Murel for 1 year. The lead changed hands 2 times.

Side by side

  Murel Murl
Total US births 7102,567
Most in one year 3384
Babies in 2025 under 5under 5
Estimated living today 100470
Median age today 8275
Peak year 19311919
Best rank 1,538th boys811th boys
Rank in 2025 unrankedunranked
First recorded 18921885
Girls / boys 225 / 485626 / 1,941

A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.

Which name is older

Half of the Murels alive today are over 82; half the Murls are over 75. That is 7 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

Compare something else

Related comparisons

Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Murel and Murl.