Meriel
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from the French "meri" meaning "shining".
Name Census estimates that about 254 living Americans carry the first name Meriel. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Meriel today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Meriel births was 1934 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Meriel. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Meriel with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
254
~ 1 in 1,349,427 Americans
Peak year
1934
15 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2014 SSA rank
#8,800
Tracked since 1916
Census
Meriel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 434 people with the first name Meriel, which placed it at #22,808 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#22,808
National first-name rank
People counted
434
434 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
60.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Meriel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meriel is White at 60.6%. The next largest groups are Black (11.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Meriel described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Meriel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.6% · 263
- Black or African American11.1% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.8% · 47
- Hispanic or Latino10.4% · 45
- Two or more races6.2% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 4
Popularity
Meriel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Meriel from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 82 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Meriel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Meriel by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Meriel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Meriel
The name Meriel is believed to have originated from the Old French language and culture, tracing its roots back to the medieval period. It is a feminine name that is thought to be derived from the Latin word "mirari," which means "to admire" or "to marvel." This suggests that the name may have been bestowed upon individuals who were considered admirable or inspiring awe.
One of the earliest known references to the name Meriel can be found in the 12th-century French epic poem "The Song of Roland." In this work, Meriel is mentioned as the name of a character, though details about their role or significance are scarce. Nevertheless, this literary mention provides evidence of the name's usage during that era.
In the 13th century, a notable figure named Meriel de Bermingham lived in England. She was a noblewoman and heiress who inherited extensive lands and properties from her father, Robert de Bermingham. Meriel de Bermingham's life and legacy serve as an early example of a woman holding significant power and wealth during the medieval period.
Another historical figure bearing the name Meriel was Meriel de Monemue, who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. She was a French noblewoman and landowner, known for her involvement in legal disputes over property rights. Records from this time period provide insights into the social and legal dynamics surrounding noble families and land ownership.
In the realm of literature, the name Meriel appeared in the works of English author Thomas Hardy. In his novel "The Woodlanders," published in 1887, one of the central characters is named Marty South, whose full name is revealed to be Mariel or Meriel. This literary representation contributed to the name's recognition and association with rural English settings.
During the 20th century, the name Meriel gained some prominence through the life of Meriel Buchanan, a British war correspondent and journalist. Born in 1909, she covered various conflicts, including World War II and the Korean War. Her bravery and dedication to reporting from the frontlines earned her recognition and respect within the field of journalism.
While the name Meriel has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, its presence in literature, historical records, and the lives of notable individuals has preserved its significance and unique charm. The name's origins and meaning continue to fascinate those interested in onomastics and the rich tapestry of cultural heritage woven into personal names.
People
Meriel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Meriel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Meriel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Meriel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 254 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Meriel going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,349,427 US residents.
Is Meriel a common name?
We classify Meriel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 376 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Meriel most popular?
The single biggest year for Meriel was 1934, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Meriel is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Meriel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 434 people with the name Meriel, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,808 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Meriel in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Meriel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Meriel leans strongly female. 432 people counted with this name were female (98.2%), compared with 8 male bearers (1.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Meriel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meriel is White at 60.6%. The next largest groups are Black (11.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Meriel most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Meriel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.6% (263 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Meriel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Meriel a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Meriel in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Meriel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Meriel in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Meriel can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Meriel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.