How common is the surname Merle?

1,302 people in the United States had the surname Merle in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 237,132 Americans. It ranked 20,408th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Merle?

In the 2010 Census, 80% of people named Merle identified as white (not Hispanic), and 13% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Where is the surname Merle most common?

Wikidata records people named Merle in France.

Is the surname Merle getting more or less common?

More common. 1,122 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 1,302 in 2010, up 16%.

Is Merle also a first name?

Yes. Merle is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Merle

A French surname, carried by 1,302 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex M640 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Merle is more common than 87.4% of them.

Origin

French origin

Borrowed from French Merle.

One of 791 French surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 1,302 people named Merle in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 237,132 Americans. That is up 16% since 2000, when the Census counted 1,122.

#20,408

rank among US surnames

1,302

people in 2010

0.4

per 100,000 Americans

+16%

change since 2000 (was #21,651)

Who is named Merle

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

80% of people named Merle identified as white (not Hispanic), 13% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 3.1% as Black (not Hispanic).

White (not Hispanic) 80%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 13%
Black (not Hispanic) 3.1%
Asian and Pacific Islander 2.3%

The Census suppresses very small shares to protect privacy; Native American, Multiracial are not shown.

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Merles

1 notable person on Wikidata, most written-about first

Carole Merle
Alpine skier, born 1964

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Merle

Merle has the Soundex code M640, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code M640.

Other French surnames

All 791 French surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Merle come from?: Borrowed from French Merle.
How common is the surname Merle?: 1,302 people in the United States had the surname Merle in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 237,132 Americans. It ranked 20,408th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Merle?: In the 2010 Census, 80% of people named Merle identified as white (not Hispanic), and 13% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named Merle?: Carole Merle, alpine skier.
Where is the surname Merle most common?: Wikidata records people named Merle in France.
Is the surname Merle getting more or less common?: More common. 1,122 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 1,302 in 2010, up 16%.
Is Merle also a first name?: Yes. Merle is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.