Merle

Merle Meaning & Origin

About Merle
The surname Merle is of French origin and is derived from the Old French word "merle," meaning "blackbird." It is a topographic or occupational surname given to someone who lived near a place where blackbirds were abundant or worked as a bird catcher. The name may also have been used as a nickname for someone with dark hair or a dark complexion.

🌍 Origin
📏 Surname Length
💬 Number of Syllables
🔠 Starting Letter
Discover Your Ancestry with 23andMe Logo

Discover Your Ancestry with 23andMe

Explore your ancestry and health insights with exclusive savings.

Save 15%-60% this holiday season

Popularity

Surname Popularity by Ethnicity

The surname Merle is a unique entry in our records. Discover more about its distribution and characteristics:

  • Number of People with the name Merle: 1,302
  • Overall Popularity: Less than 0.01% (a rare surname)
  • Ranking: 20,408
  • Frequency per 100k people: 0.44

Below is the ethnic distribution of the surname Merle based on recent US Census records. This is a brief glimpse into the diverse backgrounds of people carrying this surname.

Ranking information for the surname Merle is not currently available.

Pronunciation

📇 Metaphone
MRL
🗽 NYSIIS
MNA
🔊 Soundex
M0640
🎵 Syllabic Pronunciation
M ER1 L
🌐 IPA
/mərl/
🔊 Double Metaphone
('MRL', '')
🈯 Cross-Lingual Phonetic
M640

Accessibility & Communication

How to write the name Merle in Braille

Here's how to represent Merle in Braille, each pattern of raised dots corresponds to a letter in the name.

The name Merle in braille

How to sign the name Merle using Sign Language

The image below shows how you can spell Merle using American Sign Language (ASL). In sign language, each hand shape corresponds to a specific a letter of the name.

The name Merle in sign language

Numerology