How Many People Are Named Merlin?
An estimated 6,720 people in the United States have the first name Merlin. It is predominantly male (94.3%). The average bearer is 55 years old, and Merlin peaked in popularity in 1927 with 405 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Merlin 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 Merlin paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
6,720
About 1 in 51,005 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
94.3% confidence
Average Age
55
years old
Peak Year
1927
405 births
Total Registered
15,891
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Merlin
Merlin is predominantly male (94.3%), though 904 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Merlin as a male name
Ranked #2,083 in 2024
72 male births in 2024
Peak: 1927 (389 births)
Merlin as a female name
Ranked #8,241 in 2024
13 female births in 2024
Peak: 2003 (30 births)
Merlin: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Merlin span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 3,435 babies were registered. Merlin has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Merlin by Decade
How has Merlin 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.
Merlin by State
Birth registrations for Merlin span all 33 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota. The lowest are in New Mexico, Maine, Georgia. On average, about 314 Merlins were registered per state.
Merlin + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Merlin as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Merlin
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
Merlin: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Merlin?
We estimate approximately 6,720 people named Merlin 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 51,005 Americans share this first name.
Is Merlin a common name?
Merlin is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 97.1% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 15,891 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Merlin most popular?
Merlin reached peak popularity in 1927, when 405 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Merlin is approximately 55 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Merlin a male name?
Merlin is predominantly male. 94.3% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Merlin Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Merlin Smith, Merlin Johnson, Merlin 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.
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