Myrtle
Taken from the English name of the evergreen shrub, one of several plant names adopted in the nineteenth century. The word came through Latin from the Greek myrtos.
Myrtle in 2025
Myrtle was given to 8 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 19,525th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 414,418 babies born.
The history of Myrtle
Myrtle reached its highest point in 1918, when 4,094 babies were given the name, ranking 112th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 39th, in 1901.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 136,984 babies have been named Myrtle. Half of them were born before 1917, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Greatest Generation.
Myrtle by decade
| Decade | Babies named Myrtle | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 9,810 | 49 |
| 1890s | 17,786 | 40 |
| 1900s | 19,755 | 39 |
| 1910s | 32,549 | 58 |
| 1920s | 30,671 | 119 |
| 1930s | 14,224 | 222 |
| 1940s | 7,289 | 346 |
| 1950s | 3,106 | 694 |
| 1960s | 1,166 | 1,323 |
| 1970s | 356 | 2,628 |
| 1980s | 153 | 5,003 |
| 1990s | 62 | 13,928 |
| 2000s | 6 | 25,007 |
| 2010s | 31 | 15,060 |
| 2020s | 20 | 19,525 |
Where Myrtle is heading
Myrtle was not in use ten years ago, so there is no decade-long trend to compare against yet.
That is less than 5% of its 1918 peak — Myrtle is now a rare name in the United States.
Names like Myrtle
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Myrtle.