How Many People Are Named Merlene?
An estimated 908 people in the United States have the first name Merlene. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 74 years old, and Merlene peaked in popularity in 1940 with 93 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Merlene as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Merlene paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- With an average bearer age of 74, Merlene is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1962.
Estimated Living Americans
908
About 1 in 377,483 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
100.0% confidence
Average Age
74
years old
Peak Year
1940
93 births
Total Registered
2,379
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Merlene
Merlene is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 2,379 total births registered, 100.0% were female.
Merlene as a female name
Ranked #11,533 in 1984
5 female births in 1984
Peak: 1940 (93 births)
Merlene: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Merlene span from the 1910s to the 1980s, covering 8 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1930s, when 687 babies were registered. Merlene has declined significantly from its peak in the 1930s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Merlene by Decade
How has Merlene tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Merlene by State
Birth registrations for Merlene span all 15 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, California, Louisiana. The lowest are in Pennsylvania, Florida, Iowa. On average, about 35 Merlenes were registered per state.
Merlene + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Merlene as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Merlene
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
Merlene: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Merlene?
We estimate approximately 908 people named Merlene are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 377,483 Americans share this first name.
Is Merlene a common name?
Merlene is classified as "Very Rare" and is more popular than 89.5% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 2,379 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Merlene most popular?
Merlene reached peak popularity in 1940, when 93 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Merlene is approximately 74 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Merlene a female name?
Merlene is predominantly female. 100.0% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Merlene Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Merlene Smith, Merlene Johnson, Merlene Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
Search for a full name combination
How Many of Me