Baby Name: Merle?

I am not married (yet! It’s coming up soon!) and so I have a nice list of possible baby names that of course changes from month to month. I’ve recently lost my grandfather- he was very special to me and we had a great bond.
For a long time, the name [name_m]John[/name_m] was on my list for him, because that was his first name. I’m not sure how I never debated it before, but I’ve now got [name_u]Merle[/name_u] on my list, because though his name was [name_m]John[/name_m] [name_u]Merle[/name_u] LastName, he was ALWAYS called [name_u]Merle[/name_u]. Always. His family, his wife, his friends, us grandkids… he was Grandpa [name_u]Merle[/name_u].
So my question for you all is…
am I crazy to debate this name? It’s by all means old-fashioned, and perhaps a little too stuffy to bring back… my emotional ties to it are huge of course, but would it line any future kid of mine up to be made fun of? As it was masculine for him, should it stay masculine or
could it be feminine?
Am I overthinking this!? Help!!

I’m really not a fan of it. I think it sounds better on a boy though. You could use [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] instead. It sounds more up to date and feminine.

I think [name_u]Merle[/name_u] could make a good fn for a girl, but there might be pronunciation issues. I could see Muh-earl or [name_f]Mair[/name_f]-le. You could use [name_f]Jane[/name_f] to honor and I love [name_f]Jane[/name_f] [name_u]Merle[/name_u] as a combo.

I would use [name_u]Merle[/name_u] as a middle name for a baby girl. My great aunt is named [name_f]Muriel[/name_f], which is a variation. Other name variations to consider are [name_f]Merril[/name_f], [name_f]Meriel[/name_f], [name_f]Meryl[/name_f], [name_f]Merla[/name_f], Merletta, [name_f]Merie[/name_f], [name_f]Marilyn[/name_f], [name_f]Mirella[/name_f], Merrillee, [name_f]Merilyn[/name_f], [name_f]Mirelle[/name_f]. Some of the variants are dated as well. I am also looking for variants of my grandmas name, [name_f]Hellen[/name_f], which is a bit easier. Good luck.

I like [name_u]Merle[/name_u] and it’s meaning!!

I think it would make a great middle.
[name_f]Melina[/name_f] might be another option.

Sorry, not a fan. The sound of it is very unattractive to me.