Merle is a given name used by both men and women, from the French word ''merle'' meaning blackbird (from the Latin ''merula'').. Related names are ''Merrill'' or '' Muriel''.

People

Female

* Merle Barwis (1900–2014), American-Canadian supercentenarian * Merle van Benthem (born 1992), Dutch cyclist * Merle Chambers (born 1946), American business executive *

Merle Collins Merle Collins (born 29 September 1950 in Aruba)" ...

(born 1950), Grenadian poet and writer * Merle Dandridge (born 1975), American actress and singer * Merle Egan Anderson (c. 1888–1984), American military servicewoman *

Merle Feld Merle Feld (born in 1947) is an educator, activist, author, playwright, and poet. Biography Merle Feld was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. In 1968 she graduated from Brooklyn College and moved to Boston, where she became involved with t ...

(1947), American author, playwright, poet and activist * Merle S. Goldberg (1936–1998), American journalist and an abortion rights activist * Merle Goldman (born 1931), American historian * Merle Greene Robertson (1913–2011), American artist, art historian and archaeologist *

Merle Hodge Merle Hodge (born 1944) is a Trinidadian novelist and literary critic. Her 1970 novel '' Crick Crack, Monkey'' is a classic of West Indian literature, and Hodge is acknowledged as the first black Caribbean woman to have published a major work of f ...

(born 1944), Trinidadian novelist * Merle Hoffman (born 1946), American journalist and activist *

Merle Jääger Merle Jääger (born 19 October 1965) is an Estonian television, stage and film actress, poet and author who frequently uses the pen name Merca. Initially associated with the burgeoning Estonian punk rock scene of the early to mid 1980s, she ha ...

(born 1965), Estonian actress and poet * Merle Karusoo (born 1944), Estonian stage director and writer * Merle Keagle (1923–1960), American baseball player * Merle G. Kearns (1938–2014), American politician * Merle Kivimets (born 1974), Estonian track and field athlete * Merle Krigul (born 1954), Estonian philologist and politician * Merle Louise (born 1934), American Broadway actress * Merle Oberon (1911–1979), Indo-English actress * Merle Palmiste (born 1970), Estonian actress *

Merle Park Dame Merle Park (born 8 October 1937) is a British ballet dancer and teacher, now retired. As a prima ballerina with the Royal Ballet during the 1960s and 1970s, she was known for "brilliance of execution and virtuoso technique" as well as for h ...

(born 1937), British prima ballerina * Merle Richardson (born 1930), Australian lawn bowls player * Merle Soppela (born 1991), Finnish alpine ski racer * Merle Talvik (born 1954), Estonian actress *

Merle Temkin Merle Temkin is a New York City-based painter, sculptor and installation artist, known for vibrant, abstracted paintings based on her own enlarged fingerprint, and earlier site-specific, mirrored installations of the 1980s. Her work has often in ...

(born 1937), American artist *

Merle Tottenham Merle Tottenham (22 January 1901 – 18 July 1958) was a British stage and film actress. Her stage work included the original West End production of Noël Coward's ''Cavalcade'' in 1931; and she reprised her role as Annie the servant in the sub ...

(1901–1958), English film actress * Merle Viirmaa (born 1974), Estonian biathlete *

Merle Woo 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 Bri ...

(born 1941), American academic and activist

Male

Merle Allin Merle Allin (born September 1, 1953) is an American bass guitarist. He is the elder brother of the late punk rock vocalist GG Allin. Allin played electric bass for three groups that featured GG Allin: Malpractice, The AIDS Brigade and the thi ...

(born 1953), American punk rock musician *

Merle Anthony George Merlyn Anthony (April 26, 1926 – February 2, 1993) was an American professional baseball umpire who worked in the American League from 1969 to 1975. Anthony umpired the 1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and the 1973 American League ...

(1926–1993), American baseball umpire *

Merle Battiste Merle A. Battiste (July 22, 1933 – August 8, 2009) was an American chemist and emeritus professor of chemistry at the University of Florida. Early life and education Battiste was born on July 22, 1933, in Mobile, Alabama. His parents were Da ...

(1933–2009), American chemist * Merle Bettenhausen (born 1943), American race car driver *

Merle Boucher Merle Boucher (born July 19, 1946) is a North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party politician who served in the North Dakota House of Representatives, representing the 9th district from 1991 to 2011. He served as Minority Leader from 1996 to 2011. Bouch ...

(born 1946), American politician * Merle Boyer (1920–2009), American jewelry designer *

Merle Curti Merle Eugene Curti (September 15, 1897 – March 9, 1996) was a leading American historian, who taught many graduate students at Columbia University and the University of Wisconsin, and was a leader in developing the fields of social history and ...

(1897–1997), American historian and Pulitzer Prize winner *

Merle Dickerson Merle Dickerson (1911/1912 – June 9, 1984) was a Canadian politician, who served as a longtime mayor of North Bay, Ontario."Colourful mayor of North Bay was last old-style politician". ''The Globe and Mail'', June 11, 1984. A "colourful" populi ...

(1911/12–1984), Canadian politician * Merle Evans (1891–1987), American cornet player and circus bandleader *

Merle Fainsod Merle Fainsod (May 2, 1907 – February 11, 1972) was an American political scientist best known for his work on public administration and as a scholar of the Soviet Union. His books ''Smolensk under Soviet Rule'', based on documents captured by t ...

(1907–1972), American political scientist *

Merle Flowers Merle Flowers (born October 20, 1968) is an American businessman and politician from the state of Mississippi. A member of the Republican Party, Flowers served in the Mississippi State Senate. Flowers retired from the Mississippi Senate in 20 ...

(born 1968), American politician * Merle Gulick (1906–1976), American football player *

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled af ...

(1937–2016), American country-western musician * Merle Hansen (1919–2009), American farm activist *

Merle Harmon Merle Reid Harmon (June 21, 1926 – April 15, 2009) was an American sportscaster who was the play-by-play voice for five Major League Baseball teams, two teams in the American Football League and the World Football League's nationally syndicate ...

(1926–2009), American sportscaster *

Merle Hay Merle David Hay (July 20, 1896 – November 3, 1917) was the first Iowa serviceman and perhaps the first American serviceman to die in World War I, along with Corporal James Bethel Gresham of Evansville, Indiana and Thomas Enright of Pittsb ...

(1896–1917), American Army soldier, first U.S. soldier to be killed in WWI * Merle J. Isaac (1898–1996), American composer *

Merle Kilgore Wyatt Merle Kilgore (August 9, 1934 – February 6, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and manager. Born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, he was raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. At the time of his death, he was the personal manager of Hank Wil ...

(1934–2005), American singer, songwriter and manager * Merle Lawrence (1915–2007), American physiologist *

Merle Randall Merle Randall (January 29, 1888 – March 17, 1950) was an American physical chemist famous for his work with Gilbert N. Lewis, over a period of 25 years, in measuring reaction heat of chemical compounds and determining their corresponding free ...

(1888–1950), American physical chemist * Merle Robbins (c. 1912–1984), businessman, inventor of the card game UNO *

Merle Sande Merle Alden Sande (September 2, 1939 – November 4, 2007) was a leading American infectious-diseases expert whose early recognition of the looming public health crisis posed by AIDS led to the development of basic protocols for how to handle in ...

(1939–2007), American physician * Merle Schlosser (born 1926), American football player and coach * Merle Settlemire (1903–1988), American baseball player * Merle Shain (1935–1989), Canadian author and journalist * Merle Taylor (1927–1987), American bluegrass musician * Merle Travis (1917–1983), American country music singer *

Merle Tuve Merle Anthony Tuve (June 27, 1901 – May 20, 1982) was an American geophysicist who was the Chairman of the Office of Scientific Research and Development's Section T, which was created in August 1940. He was founding director of the Johns Hopkins ...

(1901–1982), American geophysicist *

Merle Watson Eddy Merle Watson (February 8, 1949 – October 23, 1985) was an American folk and bluegrass guitarist. He was best known for his performances with his father, Doc Watson. Merle played and recorded albums together with his father from age 15 unti ...

(1945–1985), American folk musician *

Merle Leland Youngs Merle Leland Youngs (December 2, 1886 – October 8, 1958) was the manufacturer of Trojan condoms in Trenton, New Jersey at Youngs Rubber. He was chairman of the board, treasurer and director. He was one of the first to advertise condoms to pharmaci ...

(1886–1958), American businessman

Fictional characters

Merle Dixon Merle Dixon is a fictional character from the horror drama television series '' The Walking Dead'', which airs on AMC in the United States. He was created by series developer Frank Darabont and was portrayed by Michael Rooker. The character was ...

, in AMC's TV series ''The Walking Dead'' *Merle, a character in ''The Vision of Escaflowne'', a 1996 anime series *Merle Hitower Highchurch, in the Maximum Fun podcast ''

The Adventure Zone ''The Adventure Zone'' is a weekly comedy and adventure actual play podcast based loosely upon the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' game series, along with other role-playing games. The show is distributed by the Maximum Fun network and hosted by brother ...

'' *Merle Johnson, in ''

The Godfather Part II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is partially based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. ''Part II'' s ...

'' *Merle Tucker, father of Cameron Tucker in ''

Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of thr ...

References

{{Given name, Merle Estonian feminine given names English feminine given names English masculine given names English unisex given names