ESC Name Rank Total Searching... No names found Try searching for: Emma, Liam, Olivia, Noah... 👦As Boy Name 1898 First Year 1977 Last Year 1922 Peak Year #1308 Peak Rank 736 Total Count 53 Years Active 👧As Girl Name 1901 First Year 1939 Last Year 1923 Peak Year #2732 Peak Rank 189 Total Count 23 Years Active Advertisement 🌍 ## Meaning & Origin of Murrel What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures. Channa striata, the striped snakehead, is a species of snakehead fish. It is also known as the common snakehead, chevron snakehead, or snakehead murrel and generally referred simply as mudfish. It is native to South and Southeast Asia, and has been introduced to some Pacific Islands. Reports from Madagascar and Hawaii are misidentifications of C. maculata. Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channa%5Fstriata) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channa%5Fstriata) [![Wikipedia thumbnail for Murrel](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/Gabus_070909_0074_rwg.jpg/330px-Gabus_070909_0074_rwg.jpg?utm_source=en.wikipedia.org&utm_campaign=api&utm_content=thumbnail)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channa%5Fstriata) 📖 ## The Story of Murrel ### As a girl name American parents first put Murrel on the record books as a girl name in 1901, with 7 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 1923, when 12 Murrels were born — ranking #2,732 that year. About 42% of every Murrel on record arrived during the 1920s, its defining decade. Murrel last appeared in the published SSA data in 1939, with 7 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 189 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1900s to the 2020s. ### As a boy name Murrel first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a boy name in 1898, with 5 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1922: 31 births, good for #1,308 nationwide. About 33% of every Murrel on record arrived during the 1920s, its defining decade. Murrel last appeared in the published SSA data in 1977, with 5 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 736 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1890s to the 2020s. ## Popularity Over Time Girls Boys ## Popularity by State 👧 Girls 👦 Boys ME WA MT ND MN WI MI NY VT NH MA OR ID SD IA IL IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA NV WY NE MO KY WV VA MD DE DC UT CO KS AR TN NC SC AK AZ NM OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL Top 10 11-50 51-100 101-500 500+ No data 🎶 ## Names that sound like Murrel Phonetically similar names — useful when Murrel is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * [Meral](/meral) * Morel * Morale * Muraille * Neral * [Moral](/moral) * Mull * [Myrtle](/myrtle) * Mre * [Merle](/merle) * Merkel * [Meryl](/meryl) Source: [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated. ❓ ## Frequently Asked Questions about Murrel What does the name Murrel mean? Channa striata, the striped snakehead, is a species of snakehead fish. It is also known as the common snakehead, chevron snakehead, or snakehead murrel and generally referred simply as mudfish. It is native to South and Southeast Asia, and has been introduced to some Pacific Islands. Reports from Madagascar and Hawaii are misidentifications of C. maculata. How popular is Murrel in 2026? In 2026, Murrel ranks #5,844 among boys' names in the U.S., with 5 babies given the name that year. When was Murrel most popular? Murrel reached its peak popularity in 1922, ranking #1,308 that year with 31 babies given the name. In which U.S. states is Murrel most popular? Murrel has historically been most popular in Tennessee, Oklahoma, Missouri. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Murrel. Is Murrel a unisex name? Yes — Murrel is used for both girls and boys in U.S. records, with about 20% of Murrels assigned female and 80% assigned male historically. What names go well with Murrel? Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Murrel include Ruffus, Pasqual, Eros. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data. ## Similar Names ### 👦 Similar Boy Names [👦RuffusPeak #1308](/ruffus)[👦PasqualPeak #1308](/pasqual)[👦ErosPeak #1308](/eros)[👦KramerPeak #1307](/kramer) ### 👧 Similar Girl Names [👧MargaritPeak #2732](/margarit)[👧OmeliaPeak #2732](/omelia)[👧LeveniaPeak #2732](/levenia)[👧BethenePeak #2732](/bethene) Advertisement ## About the name Murrel Murrel is a unisex baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1898 and has accumulated 736 births in the dataset. Murrel's peak popularity came in 1922 when it ranked #1,308\. Use the chart and map above to compare Murrel's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices. ### Continue exploring * [ Top names of 1922 → ](/year/1922) * [ Names of the 1920s → ](/decade/1920s) * [ Names starting with "M" → ](/letter/m) * [ Browse all boy names → ](/names/boys) * [ Top names of 2026 → ](/year/2026) * [ Browse unisex names → ](/names/unisex) Data sources * Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. [Social Security Administration ](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). 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 ](https://www.behindthename.com/) (used under their public API terms). * Meaning prose and editorial summary — [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/) article extracts, licensed under [CC BY-SA 3.0 ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). * Predicted nationality distribution — [Nationalize.io ](https://nationalize.io/). * Phonetically similar names — [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). 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. Advertisement