How rare is the name Murphy?

6,019 people in the United States have the first name Murphy, about 1 in 50,180. It ranks #3,451 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census, tied with 1 other.

first name

MURPHY

#3,451

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
6,019
About
1 in 50,180
This common or more
82.4%
Who bears it

Of the 6,019 people named Murphy, 71.7% reported their origin as White, 14.1% as Black and 4.6% as Hispanic or Latino. 72% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Murphy peaked in 2025, when 1,124 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18812025
Peak year
2025
Births that year
1,124
In 2025*
1,124
Recorded as
mostly male

At least 13,174 babies have been given the name since 1881. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Murphy by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 2020s, when it ranked #813. The largest share of babies named Murphy, 49.7%, were born in 2013 or later.

1880s#2,03030
1890s#1,68691
1900s#1,492157
1910s#1,530520
1920s#1,578737
1930s#1,595632
1940s#1,898575
1950s#2,180597
1960s#2,979393
1970s#3,653354
1980s#4,183368
1990s#2,933869
2000s#3,460947
2010s#2,0852,168
2020s#8134,736
Before 19011.1%
Greatest Generation 1901–279.7%
Silent Generation 1928–458.3%
Baby boom 1946–648%
Generation X 1965–804.1%
Millennials 1981–967.6%
Generation Z 1997–1211.6%
2013 and later49.7%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Murphy is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Murphy has been most common in Louisiana (11×), Montana (1.6×), and North Carolina (1.6×), and least common in New Jersey (0.17×).

7,699 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Exactly as common as Murphy

1 other first name also has 6,019 people.

#3,451 Maribeth · 6,019

Either side of Murphy

#3,450 Cris · 6,025#3,451 Maribeth · 6,019#3,453 Imran · 6,017#3,453 Thad · 6,017

Also a last name

As a last name, Murphy ranks #65 of 156,621, with 298,047 people. See Murphy as a last name

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