How Many People Are Named Myrtle?
An estimated 10,237 people in the United States have the first name Myrtle. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 82 years old, and Myrtle peaked in popularity in 1918 with 4,094 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Myrtle 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 Myrtle paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Myrtle is overwhelmingly female, 498 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 82, Myrtle is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1954.
- Myrtle has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1910s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
10,237
About 1 in 33,482 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
99.6% confidence
Average Age
82
years old
Peak Year
1918
4,094 births
Total Registered
136,976
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Myrtle
Myrtle is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 136,976 total births registered, 99.6% were female.
Myrtle as a male name
Ranked #3,888 in 1943
5 male births in 1943
Peak: 1915 (22 births)
Myrtle as a female name
Ranked #14,617 in 2023
6 female births in 2023
Peak: 1918 (4,076 births)
Myrtle: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Myrtle span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1910s, when 32,549 babies were registered. Myrtle has declined significantly from its peak in the 1910s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Myrtle by Decade
How has Myrtle 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.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 9,810 | 41 | 9,769 | |
| 1890s | 17,786 | 69 | 17,717 | |
| 1900s | 19,755 | 64 | 19,691 | |
| 1910s | 32,549 | 117 | 32,432 | |
| 1920s | 30,671 | 102 | 30,569 | |
| 1930s | 14,224 | 90 | 14,134 | |
| 1940s | 7,289 | 15 | 7,274 | |
| 1950s | 3,106 | 0 | 3,106 | |
| 1960s | 1,166 | 0 | 1,166 | |
| 1970s | 356 | 0 | 356 | |
| 1980s | 153 | 0 | 153 | |
| 1990s | 62 | 0 | 62 | |
| 2000s | 6 | 0 | 6 | |
| 2010s | 31 | 0 | 31 | |
| 2020s | 12 | 0 | 12 | |
Myrtle by State
Birth registrations for Myrtle span all 50 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in North Carolina, Texas, Kentucky. The lowest are in Nevada, Wyoming, New Hampshire. On average, about 1,742 Myrtles were registered per state.
Myrtle + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Myrtle as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Myrtle
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
Myrtle: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Myrtle?
We estimate approximately 10,237 people named Myrtle 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 33,482 Americans share this first name.
Is Myrtle a common name?
Myrtle is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 97.7% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 136,976 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Myrtle most popular?
Myrtle reached peak popularity in 1918, when 4,094 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Myrtle is approximately 82 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Myrtle a female name?
Myrtle is predominantly female. 99.6% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Myrtle Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Myrtle Smith, Myrtle Johnson, Myrtle 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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