How rare is the name Murray?

9,102 people in the United States have the first name Murray, about 1 in 33,183. It ranks #2,617 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

MURRAY

#2,617

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
9,102
About
1 in 33,183
This common or more
80.4%
Who bears it

Of the 9,102 people named Murray, 84.7% reported their origin as White, 10.1% as Black and 2% as two or more races. 96.6% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Murray peaked in 1922, when 635 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1922
Births that year
635
In 2025*
58 ▼91%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 22,299 babies have been given the name since 1880. 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.

Murray by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1920s, when it ranked #510. The largest share of babies named Murray, 38%, were born between 1901 and 1927, the Greatest Generation's birth years.

1880s#841203
1890s#850298
1900s#736527
1910s#5303,320
1920s#5105,617
1930s#6872,932
1940s#8502,589
1950s#9872,718
1960s#1,3601,666
1970s#2,435681
1980s#3,833423
1990s#5,918309
2000s#9,140230
2010s#6,237433
2020s#5,011353
Before 19012.5%
Greatest Generation 1901–2738%
Silent Generation 1928–4524.2%
Baby boom 1946–6421.8%
Generation X 1965–806.1%
Millennials 1981–962.7%
Generation Z 1997–121.8%
2013 and later3%

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 Murray is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Murray has been most common in New York (5.3×), Alabama (1.7×), and Mississippi (1.5×), and least common in Kentucky (0.16×).

15,915 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.

Either side of Murray

#2,615 Lakisha · 9,110#2,616 Matthias · 9,103#2,618 Edwina · 9,100#2,619 Aliza · 9,086

Spelled almost the same

One first name in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Murray, most common first.

#11,383 Murry · 1,128

Also a last name

As a last name, Murray ranks #139 of 156,621, with 179,133 people. See Murray as a last name

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