Murl vs Murphy
American parents have registered 13,174 Murphys since 1880, against 2,567 Murls. Murphy is still ahead, with 1,124 babies in 2025.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Murl Murphy
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 141 years in which either name was published, Murphy for 124 years and Murl for 17 years. The lead changed hands 24 times.
- 1881–2025 Murphy ahead, apart from 4 short spells
20 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.
Side by side
| Murl | Murphy | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 2,567 | 13,174 |
| Most in one year | 84 | 1,124 |
| Babies in 2025 | under 5 | 1,124 |
| Estimated living today | 470 | 10,000 |
| Median age today | 75 | 7 |
| Peak year | 1919 | 2025 |
| Best rank | 811th boys | 754th boys |
| Rank in 2025 | unranked | 754th |
| First recorded | 1885 | 1881 |
| Girls / boys | 626 / 1,941 | 4,688 / 8,486 |
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 Murls alive today are over 75; half the Murphys are over 7. That is 68 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Murl Oklahoma (21.2×), Missouri (9.6×), Arkansas (5.8×)
- Murphy Louisiana (10.9×), Montana (1.6×), Utah (1.6×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Murl and Murphy.