Muriel (given name)
Muriel MURE -ee-əl[ 1] given name in the English language .
The name is of Goidelic origin and was originally spelled as Muirgheal (muir "sea", gheal "bright") in Irish and Muireall in Scottish Gaelic . Various versions have long been evident in Breton , Irish , and Scottish Gaelic languages. The name was very common in medieval England, typically in the form of "Merial". Unusually for a name of Celtic origin, it remained common after the Norman Conquest , although rare from about 1300.[citation needed
Remaining common in Scotland as Muriel, the name in this form was introduced back into England[ 2] Dinah Craik 's 1856 novel John Halifax, Gentleman [ 3]
The name Meryl may be a variant of Muriel.[ 4] [ 5]
The name Muriel was listed in the top 200 names from 1912 to 1933, with its highest rate of popularity in the 1920s.[ 6]
People with the given name
Muriel Anderson (born 1960), American guitaristMuriel Angelus (1912–2004), British actressMuriel Bamblett , advocate for Aboriginal child welfare in Victoria and AustraliaMuriel Barbery (born 1969), Moroccan-born French novelistMuriel Beaumont (1881–1957), British actressMuriel Bell (1898–1974), New Zealand nutritionist and researcherMuriel Bowser (born 1972), mayor of the District of ColumbiaMuriel Box (1905–1991), British screenwriter and film directorMuriel Brandolini , French-Vietnamese interior designerMuriel Broadbent (Edith Hacon ) (1875–1952), British socialite, suffragist, WWI women's hospital volunteer
Muriel Brunskill (1899–1980), British contraltoMuriel Casals i Couturier (1945–2016), French-born Catalan economistMuriel Cooper (1925–1994), American artist and designerMuriel Davisson , American neuroscientistMuriel Day (born 1942), Irish singerMuriel Duckworth (1908–2009), Canadian activistMuriel Evans (1910–2000), American actressMuriel Fox (born 1928), American public relations executive and feminist activistMuriel Forbes (1894–1991), British politicianMuriel Glauert (1892–1949), British mathematicianMuriel Gray (born 1958), Scottish author, broadcaster and journalistMuriel Gustavo Becker (born 1987), Brazilian male footballerMuriel Hind (1882–1956), pioneering British motorcyclist and motorist described as "the first woman motorcyclist in England"Muriel Humphrey Brown (1912–1998), American "second lady", political wife and activist; briefly, a U.S. SenatorMuriel Jones (1890–1974), South African dancer and philanthropistMuriel Kovitz (1926–2021), Chancellor Emeritus of the University of CalgaryMuriel Lamb (1911–2010), New Zealand architectMuriel Langford (1913–2003), British/Australian missionary, linguistMuriel Lanchester (1902–1992), British puppeteerMuriel Lloyd Prichard (1905–1991), British academic, economist, and writerMuriel Matters (1877–1969), Australian-born British suffragist, lecturer, journalist, educator, actress and elocutionistMuriel Miguel (born 1937), Native American theatre director and choreographerMuriel Millard (1922–2014), Canadian actress, dancer, painter, singer-songwriterMuriel Moody (1907–1991), New Zealand ceramic artistMuriel Nissel (1921–2010), British statistician and civil servantLady Muriel Paget (1876–1938), English aristocrat, humanitarian, and relief organiserMuriel Pavlow (1921–2019), British actressMuriel Robinson (born 1954), British academic administrator and education scholarMuriel Rukeyser (1913–1980), American poet and political activistMuriel Smith (politician) (born 1930), Canadian politician from ManitobaMuriel Smith (singer) (1923–1985), American mezzo-sopranoMuriel Spark (1918–2006), Scottish novelistMuriel the Poetess (11th century), poet at Wilton Abbey [ 7]
Muriel Thomasset (born 1971), French physicist specializing in opticsMuriel Thompson (1875–1939), Scottish World War I ambulance driver, racing driver and suffragistMuriel Villanueva i Perarnau (born 1976), Spanish writerMuriel Watt (1917–2005), New Zealand landscape architectMuriel Window (1892–1965), American singer, Ziegfeld Girl, pilot, restaurant ownerMuriel Young (1923–2001), English television continuity announcer, presenter and producer
Fictional characters
Muriel (Animal Farm ) , a goat in George Orwell's novel Animal Farm Muriel, the main antagonist in the 2013 film Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Muriel, hotel maid who was a recurring character in the family sitcom The Suite Life of Zack & Cody
Muriel, a naïve junior angel, in series 2 of the fantasy-comedy series Good Omens
Muriel, an angel, the youngest brother of angels Lucifer Morningstar and Uriel in the Fox TV series Lucifer
Muriel Bagge , one of the main characters in Courage the Cowardly Dog Chandler Muriel Bing , one of the male lead roles in the US TV sitcom Friends (1994–2004)Muriel P. Finster in the animated series Recess
Muriel Glass in J. D. Salinger 's short story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish "
Muriel Goldman, a supporting character in the series Family Guy
Muriel Hardwicke, the main antagonist of Eva Ibbotson 's 1981 historical romance A Countess Below Stairs
Muriel Heslop, lead character in the 1994 Australian film Muriel's Wedding
Muriel McComber, teenage lead role in the Eugene O'Neill play Ah, Wilderness!
Lady Muriel Orme, one of the main characters in Lewis Carroll's Sylvie and Bruno
Muriel Pritchett, character in the Anne Tyler novel The Accidental Tourist
Muriel Rush, female lead role in the sitcom Too Close for Comfort
Muriel Stacy, Anne's teacher in Anne of Green Gables
Muriel Taggert, the villain of the first Fablehaven
Muriel Prewett, great-aunt of Ron Weasley in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Muriel Alison Goldberg Schwartz, daughter of Erica Goldberg Schwartz and Geoffrey Schwartz in The Goldbergs
See also
References
^ "Muriel" . Dictionary.com . Retrieved 4 February 2011 .Dictionary.com Unabridged , Random House ^ Hanks, Patrick ; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006), A Dictionary of First Names , Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press , pp. 199, 352, 406, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1 ^ Dinah Craik, John Halifax, Gentleman , Kessinger Publishing, p. 262.
^ Campbell, Mike (21 January 2022). "Meaning, origin and history of the name Meryl" . Behind the Name . Retrieved 20 November 2024 . ^ "Meryl" . Baby Name Meaning, Origin and Popularity . 8 February 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2024 .^ "Muriel - Baby Name Meaning, Origin, and Popularity" . Nameberry . Retrieved 5 January 2022 .^ Hilton, Lisa (2008). Queens Consort: England's Medieval Queens ISBN 9780297852612
