Comments
Meaning
Usage
Pronunciation
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I do not think that Merle is a form of Merrill or Muriel. I think it is instead transferred from the French surname Merle, which did mean "blackbird" and may have been a nickname in medieval France for someone who often whistled, or for some other characteristic attributed to blackbirds. According to Hanks & Hodges, at different times and places in medieval Europe blackbirds were thought to be either foolish, or the opposite, very shrewd. The first examples of the use of Merle as a given name in the United States are found in the 1850 census in New Orleans, a city where many residents had French ancestry, reinforcing the idea that it's from the French surname. Merle was almost never a girls’ name before 1880. That year, Henry James published his most popular novel, “The Portrait of a Lady.” One of its main characters was Madame Merle, the American-born widow of a Frenchman. Though her first name is Serena, that’s mentioned only once in 767 pages. In any event, its use as a girl's given name is probably from this novel and so is also from the French surname. [noted -ed]
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Also Danish: https://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Merle_f
Also Dutch: https://www.meertens.knaw.nl/nvb/naam/is/Merle
Also German:
https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merle_(Name)
https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Merle#German
https://www.beliebte-vornamen.de/5223-merle.htm
https://www.behindthename.com/name/merle/top/germany
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Also Dutch: https://www.meertens.knaw.nl/nvb/naam/is/Merle
Also German:
https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merle_(Name)
https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Merle#German
https://www.beliebte-vornamen.de/5223-merle.htm
https://www.behindthename.com/name/merle/top/germany
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Merle Woo is an American academic, poet and activist who has been described as "a leading member of the Radical Women and the Freedom Socialist Party". Her essay "Letter to Ma" was selected for inclusion in the 1981 feminist anthology 'This Bridge Called My Back'.
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Merle Collins is a Grenadian poet, short story writer, performing artist and novelist.
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Merle Dandridge is an American actress and singer. She is best known for performing in Broadway musicals such as Jesus Christ Superstar, Spamalot, Rent, and Once on this Island, as well as her video game roles as Alyx Vance in Half-Life 2 and Marlene in The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II.
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Not pleasant.
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My grandfather was named Kirby MERLE Ramsey (b.1888). He used Kirby for personal situations & MERLE in business matters.
My father was named Kirby MERLE Ramsey Jr (b.1921). I never knew of a time when he even spoke the name. He was always Kirby.
MY name is Kirby MERLE Ramsey III (b.1949). Growing up I was called Kim. I don't where that came from. As I entered the "Working World" I went by Kirby. Now that I am retired & in a small town that is new to me I am going by the name MERLE.
Our daughter had a baby girl in 2016. Guess what? That's right! She named her daughter Kirby. Go figure!
In 16 days the name Kirby MERLE Ramsey will be 133 years + 3 months old.
I just hope MERLE is going to be around at least another 80 years.
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My father was named Kirby MERLE Ramsey Jr (b.1921). I never knew of a time when he even spoke the name. He was always Kirby.
MY name is Kirby MERLE Ramsey III (b.1949). Growing up I was called Kim. I don't where that came from. As I entered the "Working World" I went by Kirby. Now that I am retired & in a small town that is new to me I am going by the name MERLE.
Our daughter had a baby girl in 2016. Guess what? That's right! She named her daughter Kirby. Go figure!
In 16 days the name Kirby MERLE Ramsey will be 133 years + 3 months old.
I just hope MERLE is going to be around at least another 80 years.
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I like the spelling Mearl for girls.
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I like it as a nickname for Muriel.
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Merle Haggard is a Country Singer-Songwriter.
Also, I don't like this name.
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Also, I don't like this name.
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Never heard of this, but it sounds very unpleasant.
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The name Merle was given to 19 boys born in the US in 2015.
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Merle is the name of one of the 'Dixon' brothers, along with Daryl, on the show The Walking Dead. He's received some scrutiny from others on his name, including someone that said they "wouldn't even name their dog Merle".
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Male Merles include Country artists Haggard and Watson and writer Miller. It was also used on the comic soap opera MARY HARTMAN, MARY HARTMAN as well. Dabney Coleman played Merle Jeeter, the father of a child evangelist.
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In German, it's pronounced "MAIR-leh".
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I love this name, mostly for the meaning of "blackbird." The other names that share this meaning are too odd sounding for my taste or in the case of "Merlin" the meaning is obscured by the famous bearer. "Merle" however, has a nice ring to it and also in a small way reminds me of merpeople too, thanks to the first three letters and the name's pronunciation.
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A famous bearer of the name is actress Merle Oberon, a glamorous beauty who rose to fame in both British-made and Hollywood-made films of the 1930's. She was married to legendary British film producer Alexander Korda, and her most famous role was that of Cathy in producer Samuel Goldwyn's sumptuous 1939 adaptation of "Wuthering Heights", opposite Laurence Olivier. Her real name, however, was Queenie Thompson.
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Merle is also the name of the main character in Kai Meyer's book The Water Mirror.
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Merle is a popular Estonian girl's name too.
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Merle is the name of a little cat-girl in the anime The Visions of Escaflowne along with the movie Escaflowne.
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