# Myrtle (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/myrtle/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmɝtl̩/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Myrt |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 136,984 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 498 / 136,486 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 75, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

After the plant, myrtle; used since the end of the 19th century.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 9 | 9,104 |
| 1992 | 6 | 12,829 |
| 1993 | 7 | 11,381 |
| 1994 | 9 | 9,354 |
| 1995 | 9 | 9,303 |
| 1996 | 8 | 10,235 |
| 1997 | 6 | 13,217 |
| 2005 | 6 | 15,839 |
| 2013 | 5 | 18,448 |
| 2014 | 9 | 11,657 |
| 2016 | 5 | 18,047 |
| 2019 | 12 | 8,952 |
| 2022 | 6 | 14,779 |
| 2023 | 6 | 14,634 |
| 2025 | 8 | 11,611 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1927 | 10 | 2,844 |
| 1928 | 16 | 2,020 |
| 1929 | 6 | 3,826 |
| 1930 | 15 | 2,037 |
| 1931 | 17 | 1,816 |
| 1932 | 11 | 2,418 |
| 1933 | 5 | 4,003 |
| 1934 | 8 | 2,887 |
| 1935 | 7 | 3,163 |
| 1936 | 10 | 2,406 |
| 1937 | 10 | 2,426 |
| 1938 | 7 | 3,078 |
| 1940 | 5 | 3,797 |
| 1941 | 5 | 3,851 |
| 1943 | 5 | 3,888 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 3 | 3,848 |
| 2004 | 4 | 3,725 |
| 2005 | 4 | 3,970 |
| 2007 | 7 | 2,895 |
| 2008 | 8 | 2,721 |
| 2009 | 3 | 5,556 |
| 2010 | 5 | 4,012 |
| 2011 | 4 | 4,764 |
| 2012 | 6 | 3,681 |
| 2013 | 6 | 3,536 |
| 2014 | 3 | 5,691 |
| 2015 | 11 | 2,328 |
| 2018 | 5 | 3,985 |
| 2021 | 3 | 5,581 |
| 2022 | 3 | 5,669 |

## People named Myrtle

- Myrtle Cook, Canadian athletics competitor (1902-1985)
- Myrtle Bachelder, American chemist and Women's Army Corps officer (1908–1997)
- Myrtle Corbin, American sideshow performer (1868–1928)
- Myrtle Stedman, American actress (1883-1938)
- Myrtle Gonzalez, American actress (1891–1918)
- Myrtle Lind, American actress
- Myrtle Cagle, American pilot and astronaut (1925–2019)
- Myrtle Reed, American novelist and poet (1874-1911)
- Nancy Walker, American actress (1922–1992)
- Ruth Patrick, American botanist and limnologist (1907–2013)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.