Merla
Patrick Merla is an American "literary agent, editor and prominent figure in gay publishing."
- English
Meaning & Origin of Merla
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Patrick Merla is an American "literary agent, editor and prominent figure in gay publishing."
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- English
The Story of Merla
Merla first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1908, with 6 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1949: 16 births, good for #2,514 nationwide. About 27% of every Merla on record arrived during the 1940s, its defining decade. Merla last appeared in the published SSA data in 1966, with 5 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 424 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1900s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Merla
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Merla. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
- Merle
- Merletta
Names that sound like Merla
Phonetically similar names — useful when Merla is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Merla
What does the name Merla mean?
What is the origin of the name Merla?
How popular is Merla in 2026?
When was Merla most popular?
In which U.S. states is Merla most popular?
Is Merla a unisex name?
What names go well with Merla?
What are nicknames or variants of Merla?
About the name Merla
Merla is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1908 and has accumulated 424 births in the dataset. Merla's peak popularity came in 1949 when it ranked #2,514. Use the chart and map above to compare Merla's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1949 →
- Names of the 1940s →
- Names starting with "M" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.