Meriel

femaleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Meriel: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Meriel: Recorded since 1965, with a gap of 31 years, its highest recorded position is #385, and it stood at #5,581 in 2021.

2registrars recorded it
16times a registrar ranked it
57years from first to last
#385highest recorded position
5groupings it qualifies for

What stands out in Meriel's record

Absent from every published list for 31 years inside its own recorded period, then ranked again. Names by longest absence

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1997–2021

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1997	#3174
1998	#2701
1999	#2189
2001	#3262
2002	#4137
2003	#3594
2006	#3548
2007	#4294
2008	#3397
2009	#5556
2011	#4764
2012	#4838
2014	#4003
2017	#5765
2021	#5581

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in England and Wales in 15 of the 25 years from 1997 to 2021.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1965–2021 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1997
First recorded at #3174 among girls in England and Wales in 1997 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Girls
Most recent2021
Most recently recorded at #5581 among girls in England and Wales, in 2021.
England and Wales · Girls

Meriel by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Meriel in England and Wales · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	16	3 of 10	5
2000sbusiest	29	7 of 10	4
2010s	16	4 of 10	4
2020s	3	1 of 10	3

Across England and Wales · Girls, the 2000s were its busiest decade — the 7 years of it this list covers, averaging 4 births a year.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Meriel appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1965 to 2021. Highest recorded position: #385 in Republic of Ireland in 1965.

Meriel's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2021	England and Wales	female	#5581	3	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#5765	3	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#4003	5	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#4838	4	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#4764	4	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#5556	3	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#3397	6	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#4294	4	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#3548	5	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#3594	4	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#4137	3	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#3262	4	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#2189	7	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#2701	5	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#3174	4	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	female	#385	3	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 2 registrars between 1965 and 2021, ranked in 16 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #385, first reached in 1965.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 7 births, registered in England and Wales in 1999.

Its record falls into 8 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 31 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1997, and 32 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

5decades with a ranked yearRecorded in 5 decades →
4 yearslongest unbroken run of ranked years
8separate stretches the record falls into6 to 9 separate stretches →
31 yearslongest absence inside the recorded period20 or more years missing →
#5,581position in 2021, its most recent recorded year
32 yearsyears between the first and last registrar to record itAcross 21 to 40 years →
7births registered in its largest year, 1999Under 25 births →

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Merethe · #69, 54y
Merida · #790, 12y
Meriem · #910, 26y
Merissa · #534, 12y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 2 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Ceili · #384, 13y
Morven · #384, 19y
Tyana · #384, 16y
Scarlett-Rose · #383, 19y

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1960 and 1969.

Gine · #385, 22y
Inez · #385, 32y
Rena · #385, 37y
Une · #385, 32y

Meriel was ranked #385 in Republic of Ireland · Girls in 1965. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Meriel and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Meriel without appearing here.

Meriel moved ahead of

Gail Compare
In 2007 they stood at #4294 and #3667 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2008 that had become #3397 and #5545.
Rian Compare
In 2013 they stood at #4838 and #4838 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2014 that had become #4003 and #5691.
Therese Compare
In 2013 they stood at #4838 and #4838 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2014 that had become #4003 and #5691.
Cian Compare
In 2005 they stood at #3594 and #3594 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2006 that had become #3548 and #5061.

Moved ahead of Meriel

Eabha Compare
In 2008 they stood at #3548 and #5061 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2009 that had become #5556 and #2326.
Amalie Compare
In 2001 they stood at #3262 and #3998 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2002 that had become #4137 and #938.
Meabh Compare
In 2013 they stood at #4838 and #5876 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2014 that had become #4003 and #2314.
Blake Compare
In 2008 they stood at #4294 and #5201 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2009 that had become #5556 and #3936.

Moved the opposite way to Meriel

Ada Compare
Between 1997 and 2021 in England and Wales · Girls, Meriel went from #3174 to #5581 while Ada went from #1543 to #44.
Alma Compare
Between 1997 and 2021 in England and Wales · Girls, Meriel went from #3174 to #5581 while Alma went from #2411 to #267.
Alyssa Compare
Between 1997 and 2021 in England and Wales · Girls, Meriel went from #3174 to #5581 while Alyssa went from #506 to #211.
Amalie Compare
Between 1997 and 2021 in England and Wales · Girls, Meriel went from #3174 to #5581 while Amalie went from #3824 to #1102.

Moved the same way as Meriel

Abigail Compare
Between 1997 and 2021 in England and Wales · Girls, Meriel went from #3174 to #5581 and Abigail from #24 to #105.
Aimee Compare
Between 1997 and 2021 in England and Wales · Girls, Meriel went from #3174 to #5581 and Aimee from #61 to #1195.
Aisling Compare
Between 1997 and 2021 in England and Wales · Girls, Meriel went from #3174 to #5581 and Aisling from #496 to #1569.
Alex Compare
Between 1997 and 2021 in England and Wales · Girls, Meriel went from #3174 to #5581 and Alex from #179 to #1866.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1965 to 2021. Highest recorded position: #385 in Republic of Ireland in 1965. Source data last verified 2026-07-25.

Meriel

Meriel at a glance

What stands out in Meriel's record

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Meriel by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Meriel appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Meriel

Meriel and the names beside it

Meriel moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Meriel

Moved the opposite way to Meriel

Moved the same way as Meriel

Meriel at a glance

What stands out in Meriel's record

Meriel by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Meriel appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Meriel

Meriel and the names beside it

Meriel moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Meriel

Moved the opposite way to Meriel

Moved the same way as Meriel