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Meaning of the nameMuriel

Muriel is a unisex name of Scottish Gaelic origin, from Muireall, formed from muir, 'sea', and geal, 'white' or 'bright'.

Meaning

“white or bright sea”

Source: Wiktionary: Muriel

More names that mean light

People (2022)
6,867
Rank in Brazil
#2,194
Median age
23 years
2010 Census
5,369
people

Muriel in the 2022 Census

People with the first name Muriel, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in the 1980s (1,681 people).

2,125 women 4,742 men

Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census, Nomes no Brasil. The census counts the first name of people alive in 2022; small counts are not published, and the first group covers everyone born before 1940. How to read these data.

Where the name Muriel is most common

States with the highest share of people named Muriel in the population, in the 2022 Census.

  1. Rio Grande do Sul 0.016%
  2. Santa Catarina 0.011%
  3. Tocantins 0.008%
  4. Mato Grosso do Sul 0.007%
  5. Goiás 0.006%
All states
StatePeople% of population
Rio Grande do Sul1,7600.016%
São Paulo1,2620.003%
Santa Catarina7990.011%
Bahia4210.003%
Goiás4050.006%
Paraná3910.003%
Minas Gerais3640.002%
Rio de Janeiro2180.001%
Mato Grosso do Sul1860.007%
Tocantins1190.008%
Pará1130.001%
Mato Grosso1110.003%
Maranhão960.001%
Espírito Santo840.002%
Pernambuco810.001%
Distrito Federal770.003%
Ceará750.001%
Piauí680.002%
Amazonas590.002%
Paraíba430.001%
Sergipe380.002%
Rio Grande do Norte220.001%
Acre220.003%
Rondônia210.001%
Alagoas180.001%

States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.

About the name Muriel

Wiktionary, in its English entry, traces Muriel to Scottish Gaelic Muireall, formed from muir ('sea') and geal ('white, bright'). Behind the Name describes it as an English adaptation of Irish Muirgel and Scottish Muireall, also used in Brittany, and notes the novel John Halifax, Gentleman (1856), by Dinah Craik, which helped to spread it. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 6,867 people named Muriel, with a median age of 23. Proportionally, it is most common in Rio Grande do Sul.

Sources

  1. Wiktionary: Muriel · en.wiktionary.org · meaning
  2. Behind the Name: Muriel · behindthename.com · origin

Questions about the name Muriel

What does the name Muriel mean?

Muriel means “white or bright sea”, according to Wiktionary.

How many people are named Muriel in Brazil?

IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 6,867 people with the first name Muriel, which ranks it number 2,194 among the country's names. The largest group was born in the 1980s.

Is Muriel a boy's or a girl's name?

Muriel is used by both men and women: in the 2022 Census, 2,125 women and 4,742 men had this name.

What is the origin of the name Muriel?

Muriel is a name of Celtic origin. The sources are listed at the end of the page.

In which Brazilian state is Muriel most common?

Proportionally, in Rio Grande do Sul: 0.016% of the state's population is named Muriel (1,760 people), according to the 2022 Census.

Names that also mean light

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More names of Celtic origin

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Spotted a mistake? Report a correction for Muriel with a source. See the methodology.