Merle (given name)
{{Short description|Unisex given name}}
{{Infobox name
| name = Merle
| image =
| caption =
| romanisation =
| pronunciation = {{IPAc-en|us|'|m|3|r|l}}
{{IPAc-en|uk|'|m|3|l}}
| gender = Unisex
| language = English
| name day =
| masculine =
| feminine =
| languageorigin =
{{Plainlist|
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| origin = From the English word merle or the French surname Merle
| derivation = Latin: merula
| meaning = "Blackbird"
| motto =
| alternative spelling =
| variant forms = Merl
| shortform =
| nickname =
| petname =
| cognate =
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| derivative =
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| related names = Merrill, Muriel
| see also =
| popularity =
}}Merle is a given name used by both men and women, from the English word merle or the French surname Merle, which both meaning blackbird (from the Latin merula).{{cite web | url=https://www.behindthename.com/name/merle | title=Meaning, origin and history of the name Merle }} 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 (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 (1947), American author, playwright, poet and activist
- Merle S. Goldberg (1936–1998), American journalist and abortion rights activist
- Merle Goldman (1931–2023), American historian
- Merle Greene Robertson (1913–2011), American artist, art historian and archaeologist
- Merle Greenwood (1900-1990), Australian-born New Zealand architect
- Merle Henderson (born 1990), Scottish medical doctor and researcher
- Merle Hodge (born 1944), Trinidadian novelist
- Merle Hoffman (born 1946), American journalist and activist
- Merle Jääger (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 Liivand (born 1991), Estonian swimmer and environmental activist
- Merle Louise (1934–2025), American Broadway actress
- Merle Oberon (1911–1979), Indo-English actress
- Merle Palmiste (born 1970), Estonian actress
- Merle Park (born 1937), British prima ballerina
- Merle Parts (born 1967), Estonian judge
- Merle Richardson (born 1930), Australian lawn bowls player
- Merle Soppela (born 1991), Finnish alpine ski racer
- Merle Talvik (born 1954), Estonian actress
- Merle Temkin (born 1937), American artist
- Merle Tottenham (1901–1958), English film actress
- Merle Viirmaa (born 1974), Estonian biathlete
- Merle Woo (born 1941), American academic and activist
=Male=
- Merle Allin (born 1953), American punk rock musician
- Merle Anthony (1926–1993), American baseball umpire
- Merle Battiste (1933–2009), American chemist
- Merle Bettenhausen (born 1943), American race car driver
- Merle Boucher (born 1946), American politician
- Merle Boyer (1920–2009), American jewelry designer
- Merle Curti (1897–1997), American historian and Pulitzer Prize winner
- Merle Dickerson (1911/12–1984), Canadian politician
- Merle Evans (1891–1987), American cornet player and circus bandleader
- Merle Fainsod (1907–1972), American political scientist
- Merle Flowers (born 1968), American politician
- Merle Gulick (1906–1976), American football player
- Merle Haggard (1937–2016), American country-western musician
- Merle Hansen (1919–2009), American farm activist
- Merle Harmon (1926–2009), American sportscaster
- Merle Hay (1896–1917), American Army soldier, first American soldier killed in World War I
- Merle J. Isaac (1898–1996), American composer
- Merle Kilgore (1934–2005), American singer, songwriter and manager
- Merle Lawrence (1915–2007), American physiologist
- Merle Randall (1888–1950), American physical chemist
- Merle Robbins (c. 1912–1984), businessman, inventor of the card game UNO
- Merle Sande (1939–2007), American physician
- Merle Schlosser (1923–1993), 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 (1901–1982), American geophysicist
- Merle Watson (1945–1985), American folk musician
- Merle Leland Youngs (1886–1958), American businessman
Fictional characters
- Merle Dixon, 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
- Merle Johnson, in The Godfather Part II
- Merle Tucker, father of Cameron Tucker in Modern Family
- Merle, a character in Paper Mario