Merle, boy or girl?

[cathyearnshaw]

Thanks to all of you for your answers.

@lilysong

When I first saw your post, I thought of it as a girl’s name (rhymes with [name]Pearl[/name]?) & I like the sound of it What part of the world are you living in? That would be a huge factor in whether this name would work for you and whether it would be associated with any of the Merles mentioned in pp (of whom I’ve never heard of before today)

In French, yes, merle noir means blackbird, merle bleu is bluebird etc. [name]Merle[/name] refers to quite a few bird species. It’s also the word used to describe the mottled colouring of certain dog breeds, it’s the French word for a species of fish, it’s also a place name and a family name… type in “merle” in the French Wikipedia page and you will see the longish list of all things [name]Merle[/name]

Although I like the name and its bird association, based on all the other posts and that you said you hate unisex names, it sounds like you should steer clear of this one. I like the pp suggestion of [name]Merel[/name].

Oh, and your English (in this post) is just as good as anyone else’!

I live in [name]Italy[/name], but I didn’t ask because I want to use this name, I was curios to see how it is perceived

[Sidura]

When I see “[name]Merle[/name]” I think of the dog color first. My grandfather was named [name]Merle[/name] (I think it was spelled [name]Murl[/name]). It sounds very masculine to me.

I dislike the name. All I see is a grumpy old man.

[MerylP]

My name is [name]Meryl[/name], which I think is the feminine version. [name]Merle[/name] is neutral for me. My parents thought I was going to be a boy and would have named me [name]Merrill[/name]. I really like my name it is unusual but still familiar. I was the only [name]Meryl[/name] in a sea of [name]Jennifer[/name]'s, [name]Jessica[/name]'s and [name]Ashley[/name]'s.

[taz]

Boy is my first thought but unisex really like Merit it has male & femme qualities imo

[nj003]

I think of [name]Merle[/name] from The Walking Dead! So it’s definitely a masculine name to me.

[dresdendoll]

All male! Like [name]Merle[/name] [name]Dixon[/name] on “The Walking Dead”!

[jwalling]

I have a great-aunt [name]Merle[/name] who is in her nineties, so I definitely think “old lady” first.

[clemency]

[name]Merle[/name] is NMS, personally, but I would say it’s close to being truly unisex, leaning more toward a male assocation. I had a (male) friend named [name]Merle[/name] in high school, and he was a really cool guy, so I guess I have a positive association though the sound isn’t my cup of tea!

For a girl, I prefer some of the names others have suggested–[name]Muriel[/name], [name]Meryl[/name] (and spelling variations), [name]Mariel[/name], etc. Similar sounds, but more feminine sounding, in my opinion.

[buttonhead101]

I didn’t know it could be a girl name, we had a (male) neighbor with that name. I won’t tell you about him because you might lose your love for the name.

[rsoronen]

All male for me, too. I’ve never heard it on a girl, and very rarely on guys. I’m in Michigan - is it used more in the southern US?

[ashthedreamer]

I have a great uncle [name]Merle[/name], too. So it’s all boy to me. If you want a more distinctive choice for either gender, I love the suggestions of [name]Meryl[/name] and [name]Merrill[/name].

[sportsma]

My DH’s grandfather was named [name]Merle[/name]! That is the only time I’ve heard it, and I’ve never heard it on a girl…

I guess I could see it on a girl though.

[itpbr]

At dovah – it also rhymes with [name]Pearl[/name], a very feminine name!

[system]

I’ve heard [name]Merla[/name] on a girl but I’ve never come across [name]Merle[/name] before. Behind the Name suggests it’s unisex though. I think because of [name]Merla[/name] I’d assume [name]Merle[/name] was a girl too.

I guess it’d be said ‘merla’ in Germany (like [name]Lotte[/name] is ‘lotta’) so that pronunciation could work too.