Merle (given name)

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.

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 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 (born 1934), American Broadway actress
 * Merle Oberon (1911–1979), Indo-English actress
 * Merle Palmiste (born 1970), Estonian actress
 * Merle Park (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 (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