Humanverse

Murrell vs Murriel

American parents have registered 1,288 Murrells since 1880, against 633 Murriels. Neither name reached five babies in 2025.

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Births per year: Murrell against Murriel, 1880 to 2025 0 13 25 38 50 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Murrell 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 75 years in which either name was published, Murrell for 68 years and Murriel for 7 years. The lead changed hands 9 times.

Side by side

  Murrell Murriel
Total US births 1,288633
Most in one year 4833
Babies in 2025 under 5under 5
Estimated living today 310110
Median age today 7282
Peak year 19231925
Best rank 1,177th boys1,576th girls
Rank in 2025 unrankedunranked
First recorded 18981892
Girls / boys 190 / 1,098513 / 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 Murrells are over 72. That is 10 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: Murrell and Murriel.