Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 1922

Muriel

Meaning sea Gender Girl · 1% boys Rank 2025 #4,430 Trend ↑ Rising 94%

Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Muireall, from muir (“sea”), from Old Irish muir, from Proto-Celtic *mori, from Proto-Indo-European *móri; + geal (“white, bright”)…

Rank 2025
#4,430
among girls · ↓1,220 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
32
named Muriel · -36% vs 2024
How common
1 in 50,227
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1922
2,407 babies
All-time total
55,646
#552 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Muriel popularity over time

55,646 babies have been named Muriel since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.631.251.882.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 248 – 248 25 – #343
1890s 1,062 – 1,062 106 +328% #212
1900s 2,257 17 2,274 227 +114% #191
1910s 11,701 109 11,810 1,181 +419% #128
1920s 20,481 268 20,749 2,075 +76% #112
1930s 8,656 177 8,833 883 -57% #155
1940s 4,666 123 4,789 479 -46% #258
1950s 2,571 56 2,627 263 -45% #445
1960s 1,265 12 1,277 128 -51% #786
1970s 498 – 498 50 -61% #1,331
1980s 433 – 433 43 -13% #1,904
1990s 360 – 360 36 -17% #2,743
2000s 298 – 298 30 -17% #3,568
2010s 218 – 218 22 -27% #4,735
2020s (to 2025) 170 – 170 28 +30% #3,210

Where Muriel is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 35 0.02 outside top 500
2027 38 0.02 outside top 500
2028 41 0.03 outside top 500
2029 44 0.03 outside top 500
2030 46 0.03 outside top 500

The story of Muriel

Muriel is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #4,430 in 2025 with 32 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 55,646 American babies have been named Muriel. Its peak came in 1922, when 2,407 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1920s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Muriel stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Muriel?

The median living Muriel is about 77 years old; half are between 64 and 86. An estimated 11 thousand people named Muriel are alive in the United States today.

median 77 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Muriel year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 32 #4,430 – –
2024 50 #3,210 – –
2023 27 #4,956 – –
2022 22 #5,753 – –
2021 19 #6,334 – –
2020 20 #6,014 – –
2019 20 #6,117 – –
2018 19 #6,436 – –
2017 26 #5,144 – –
2016 21 #6,124 – –
2015 28 #4,943 – –
2014 30 #4,735 – –
2013 15 #8,045 – –
2012 16 #7,694 – –
2011 21 #6,277 – –
2010 22 #6,117 – –
2009 20 #6,738 – –
2008 31 #4,842 – –
2007 30 #4,904 – –
2006 33 #4,432 – –
2005 27 #4,918 – –
2004 27 #4,906 – –
2003 30 #4,387 – –
2002 38 #3,568 – –
2001 30 #4,169 – –
2000 32 #3,953 – –
1995 37 #3,139 – –
1990 37 #3,056 – –
1985 38 #2,578 – –
1980 51 #2,057 – –
1975 55 #1,723 – –
1970 76 #1,381 – –
1965 108 #1,007 – –
1960 168 #792 – –
1955 245 #587 6 #3,764
1950 330 #445 8 #2,951
1945 390 #349 6 #3,215
1940 581 #258 22 #1,457
1935 797 #215 17 #1,740
1930 1,341 #155 32 #1,270
1925 2,215 #126 33 #1,275
1920 2,071 #123 18 #1,938
1915 1,445 #134 8 #2,987
1910 365 #187 – –
1905 186 #230 – –
1900 224 #211 – –
1895 108 #272 – –
1890 58 #336 – –
1885 26 #410 – –
1880 7 #719 – –

Famous people named Muriel

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Muriel Bowser Muriel Bowser Mayor of the District of Columbia since 2015 b. 1972 · Contemporary
  2. 2 Muriel Spark Muriel Spark Scottish author (1918–2006) Contemporary
  3. 3 Muriel Humphrey Brown Muriel Humphrey Brown American politician (1912–1998) Contemporary
  4. 4 Muriel Barbery Muriel Barbery French novelist and philosophy teacher b. 1969 · Contemporary
  5. 5 Muriel Robb Muriel Robb English tennis player (1878–1907) 19th century
  6. 6 Muriel Hurtis-Houairi Muriel Hurtis-Houairi French sprinter (born 1979) Contemporary
  7. 7 Muriel Casals i Couturier Muriel Casals i Couturier Catalan economist (1945–2016) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Muriel, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Muriel?

The median living Muriel is about 77 years old. Half of all living Muriels are between 64 and 86 years old.

How many people named Muriel are alive today?

An estimated 11 thousand people named Muriel are alive in the United States, based on 55,646 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Muriel mean?

Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Muireall, from muir (“sea”), from Old Irish muir, from Proto-Celtic *mori, from Proto-Indo-European *móri; + geal (“white, bright”), from Old Irish gel, from Proto-Celtic *gelos (“yellow,…

How popular is the name Muriel in 2025?

Muriel ranked #4,430 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 32 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Muriel?

55,646 babies have been named Muriel in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Muriel most popular?

Muriel peaked in 1922, when 2,407 newborns received the name.

Is Muriel a boy or girl name?

Muriel is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Muriel rising or falling?

Muriel is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Muriel become more popular?

Muriel is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 46 girls named Muriel in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Muriel?

Well-known people named Muriel include Muriel Bowser (politician), Muriel Spark (writer), Muriel Humphrey Brown (politician).

Names like Muriel

Names that sound and feel close to Muriel: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Muriel with similar names → More names starting with M →