Humanverse

Murl vs Murriel

American parents have registered 2,567 Murls since 1880, against 633 Murriels. Neither name reached five babies in 2025.

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

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

Murl Murriel

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 Murriel for 1 year. The lead changed hands 2 times.

Side by side

  Murl Murriel
Total US births 2,567633
Most in one year 8433
Babies in 2025 under 5under 5
Estimated living today 470110
Median age today 7582
Peak year 19191925
Best rank 811th boys1,576th girls
Rank in 2025 unrankedunranked
First recorded 18851892
Girls / boys 626 / 1,941513 / 120

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 Murriels 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: Murl and Murriel.