The first name Muriel
A girl’s name from Scottish Gaelic meaning “sea”, “white”, “bright”.
Pronounced /ˈmjʊəɹɪ.əl/ 3 syllables Female Also a surname
Meaning and origin
Scottish Gaelic origin
Muriel means “sea”, “white”, “bright” in Scottish Gaelic.
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, white”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- (“green, yellow”).
More names that mean light, sea, white.
From Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity
Babies registered in England and Wales, 1996–2025
Muriel last appeared in the official list in 2024, given to 7 girls.
Office for National Statistics; years with fewer than three births are not published and show as zero. Compare Muriel with other names.
Popularity in the United States
Babies named Muriel at birth, 1880–2025
In 2025, 32 girls born in the United States were named Muriel, the 4,430th most popular girls’ name that year. It was used most in 1922, when 2,392 were.
US Social Security Administration, from applications for a Social Security card. A name is only published for a year when at least five babies were given it, so quieter years show as zero.
Muriel in other languages
Equivalent forms of the name, from Wiktionary
Spelled Muriel in French, Hungarian and Portuguese too.
Nicknames and spellings
Famous people named Muriel
33 on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Muriel BarberyFrench writer, born 1969
- Muriel RobbEnglish tennis player (1878–1907)
- Muriel HumphreyAmerican politician (1912–1998)
- Muriel Hurtis-HouairiFrench sprinter, born 1979
- Muriel RobinFrench actress and comedian, born 1955
- Muriel PavlowBritish actress (1921-2019)
- Muriel FreemanFencer (1897–1980)
- Muriel BaumeisterAustrian-German actress, born 1972
- Muriel EvansAmerican actress, radio personality (1910-2000)
- Muriel PénicaudFrench business executive and politician, born 1955
- Muriel Gustavo BeckerBrazilian footballer, born 1987
- Muriel OstricheAmerican actress (1896-1989)
More Scottish Gaelic girls’ names
Questions
- What does the name Muriel mean?
- Muriel means “sea”, “white”, “bright” in Scottish Gaelic.
- What is the origin of the name Muriel?
- 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, white”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- (“green, yellow”).
- How popular is the name Muriel?
- In 2024, 7 girls born in England and Wales were named Muriel, ranking 3,318th.
- Is Muriel a boy's or a girl's name?
- Mostly a girl's name: 99% of the 55,646 US babies named Muriel since 1880 were girls.
- When was Muriel most popular?
- 1922 in the United States, when 2,392 babies were named Muriel, its highest rank at 112th.
- How do you pronounce Muriel?
- Muriel is /ˈmjʊəɹɪ.əl/, 3 syllables.
- What are other spellings of Muriel?
- Merrell, Merril, Merrill, Murrell, Murrill and Meryl.
- Is Muriel also a surname?
- Yes. Muriel is used as a surname as well as a first name; its surname page has the origin and how many people carry it.