Merlene

Last seen for girls in 1984 at #10,422

Peak · girls
1940 · 93 births
Debut · girls
5 births
In top 100 · girls
never
of 146 years
Total births · girls
2,379
since 1913

Merlene over time

girls

Rank among girls' names. Merlene has never cracked the top 700 here.

#1#10#100#1,000#10,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201935peak #721, 1940girls
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirls
rankbirths
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1985—
1984#10,4225
1983—
1982#9,2376
1981—
1980—
1979—
1978#8,5626
1977#7,5677
1976—
1975—
1974#7,6806
1973#6,0808
1972#6,5587
1971#6,6197
1970#4,49212
1969#3,95813
1968#7,0165
1967#3,48414
1966#2,83919
1965#2,83319
1964#3,37915
1963#2,86419
1962#2,60522
1961#2,41125
1960#2,09730
1959#1,74140
1958#1,70340
1957#1,80836
1956#1,73837
1955#1,44549
1954#1,58541
1953#1,41048
1952#1,45444
1951#1,33948
1950#1,30249
1949#1,33547
1948#1,20956
1947#1,30249
1946#96175
1945#1,02257
1944#95366
1943#1,00662
1942#93670
1941#97057
1940#72193
1939#88263
1938#76483
1937#75281
1936#78574
1935#76379
1934#81568
1933#80169
1932#89162
1931#84466
1930#1,14442
1929#95956
1928#1,01554
1927#1,52329
1926#1,48330
1925#1,70025
1924#1,32837
1923#1,73624
1922#2,10918
1921#2,04819
1920#2,35715
1919#1,69823
1918#2,28915
1917#3,7137
1916#2,49812
1915#3,4347
1914#2,8767
1913#3,1875
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First appearance
1913

The first year at least five girls were named Merlene! It came in at #3,187, and was given to 5 baby girls.


Quietest stretch: 1975–1976, when fewer than 5 girls a year got the name.

Where Merlene is popular in 1935

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedAKMaine: #169 for girls · 7 births · 1 in 900 girlsMEVermont: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedVTNew Hampshire: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedNHWashington: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedWAIdaho: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedIDMontana: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedMTNorth Dakota: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedNDMinnesota: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedMNIllinois: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedILWisconsin: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedWIMichigan: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedMINew York: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedNYMassachusetts: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedMARhode Island: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedRIOregon: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedORNevada: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedNVWyoming: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedWYSouth Dakota: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedSDIowa: #291 for girls · 6 births · 1 in 3,008 girlsIAIndiana: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedINOhio: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedOHPennsylvania: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedPANew Jersey: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedNJConnecticut: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedCTCalifornia: #502 for girls · 6 births · 1 in 5,820 girlsCAUtah: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedUTColorado: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedCONebraska: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedNEMissouri: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedMOKentucky: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedKYWest Virginia: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedWVVirginia: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedVAMaryland: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedMDDelaware: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedDEArizona: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedAZNew Mexico: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedNMKansas: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedKSArkansas: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedARTennessee: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedTNNorth Carolina: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedNCSouth Carolina: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedSCDistrict of Columbia: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedDCOklahoma: #464 for girls · 5 births · 1 in 4,394 girlsOKLouisiana: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedLAMississippi: #409 for girls · 6 births · 1 in 3,677 girlsMSAlabama: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedALGeorgia: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedGAHawaii: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedHITexas: #617 for girls · 10 births · 1 in 5,675 girlsTXFlorida: fewer than 5 girls named Merlene, so not publishedFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · girls
  1. Maine#169 · 1 in 900
  2. Iowa#291 · 1 in 3,008
  3. Mississippi#409 · 1 in 3,677
  4. Oklahoma#464 · 1 in 4,394
  5. California#502 · 1 in 5,820

Best ever in a state: #125 in Utah, 1937.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
Maine#16971 in 900
Iowa#29161 in 3,008
Mississippi#40961 in 3,677
Oklahoma#46451 in 4,394
California#50261 in 5,820
Texas#617101 in 5,675
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Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the girls born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.

See more about Merlene
Momentum · girls
Faded out
  • Not published in 2025; last seen 1984
  • Biggest jump: 300 spots in 1931 (#1,144 → #844)
  • Biggest drop: 341 spots in 1947 (#961 → #1,302)
Rise & fade · girls
27 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1913
  • Peaked 1940 at #721 (93 births)
  • Births halved by 1952, 12 yrs later
Top of the charts · girls
Top 1,000 for 15 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: never
  • Top 1,000: 15 yrs · run 1931–1942
Share of babies · girls
1 in 12,296
  • Highest: 1 in 12,296 girls born in 1940 were named Merlene (0.01%)
  • Latest: 1 in 336,763 girls born in 1984 (0.00%)
Era · girls
The 1930s
  • 28.9% of all girls named Merlene (687) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1910s76#1,698 (1919)#2,814
1920s307#959 (1929)#1,626
1930s687#752 (1937)#844
1940s632#721 (1940)#1,042
1950s432#1,302 (1950)#1,553
1960s181#2,097 (1960)#3,349
1970s53#4,492 (1970)#6,794
1980s11#9,237 (1982)#9,830

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 girls in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Merlene in 1935

girls
#763
79 births · 1 in 13,273 girls

Top girls' names in 1935

  1. #1Mary55,076
  2. #2Shirley42,366
  3. #3Barbara30,698
  4. #4Betty28,674
  5. #5Patricia22,879
  6. #6Dorothy19,406
  7. #7Joan18,220
  8. #8Margaret14,727
  9. #9Nancy14,544
  10. #10Helen12,785
  11. #763Merlene79
More about 1935

girls

1,048,577 girls got a published name in 1935; 1 in 13,273 of them was named Merlene, which outranked 84.4% of the 4,893 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 24.7% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Merlene
  1. #758Marylin80
  2. #758Marylyn80
  3. #758Rosanne80
  4. #763Merlene79
  5. #763Philomena79
  6. #763Rubye79
  7. #766Ana78
  8. #766Barbra78
  9. #766Kathrine78

Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1934
Risers
  1. ↑ 2,736Norita#3,449 → #713
  2. ↑ 1,073Shelby#1,913 → #840
  3. ↑ 672Darla#1,344 → #672
  4. ↑ 396Shirleyann#1,292 → #896
  5. ↑ 375Loris#1,236 → #861
Fallers
  1. ↓ 545Marcelina#938 → #1,483
  2. ↓ 456Tomasa#925 → #1,381
  3. ↓ 393Glendora#938 → #1,331
  4. ↓ 388Marceline#993 → #1,381
  5. ↓ 358Rheta#526 → #884

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1935 →