Girls' name · peaked in 1895
Myrtle name popularity since 1925
39,124 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Myrtle. Half of them were born in 1934 or earlier, so the typical Myrtle is about 92 years old in 2026. Myrtle peaked in 1895 as the #28 name for girls, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 39,124
- Named Myrtle, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1895
- #28 for girls that year
- Typical age
- About 92
- Median birth year 1934
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #11,611 for girls in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.6% girls
- 38,963 girls · 161 boys
- Most popular in
- West Virginia
- 3.53× its national share
Peak year is the year Myrtle made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Myrtle births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1925. Measured as a share of all babies, Myrtle peaked earlier, in 1895.
- Steepest fall: Between 1941 and 1946, Myrtle's share of baby girls fell by 55%, from 1 in 1,250 to 1 in 2,750.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Myrtle's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Myrtle.
Decade by decade
Babies named Myrtle in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 12,655 | 56 | – |
| 1930s | 14,134 | 90 | #153 |
| 1940s | 7,274 | 15 | #277 |
| 1950s | 3,106 | 0 | #520 |
| 1960s | 1,166 | 0 | #947 |
| 1970s | 356 | 0 | #2,121 |
| 1980s | 153 | 0 | #6,787 |
| 1990s | 62 | 0 | #9,303 |
| 2000s | 6 | 0 | #15,839 |
| 2010s | 31 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 2020–25 | 20 | 0 | #11,611 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000. "Under 5" means fewer than 5 girls got the name.
Generation fingerprint
60.5% of babies named Myrtle from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Myrtle is most popular
The index compares Myrtle's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Myrtle.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 3.53× | 1,158 |
| Kentucky | 3.48× | 2,175 |
| North Carolina | 3.17× | 3,351 |
| Alabama | 3.14× | 2,073 |
| Mississippi | 3.09× | 1,396 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Myrtle's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Myrtle.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Myrtle (1895).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data