Murphy

Murphy: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “sea warrior”
Origin: Irish
Say it: MUR-fee · 2 syllables
Used for: Both (32% girls, 68% boys since 1880)

From the Irish surname Ó Murchadha, from Murchadh, combining muir 'sea' and cath 'battle'. It is primarily a surname, also used as a given name.

Irish names Names meaning sea Names meaning warrior Names meaning strength Surname-style names

How popular is Murphy?

2024287 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Murphy in 2024954

2024 rank#474 girls

Peak year2024

Total US babies since 188012,044

Murphy is rising: use over the last five years is 6.0× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Murphy

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Rileyvaliant · Irish
Rowanlittle red-haired one · Irish
Quinndescendant of Conn · Irish
Roryred king · Irish
Lennonlover · Irish
Caseyvigilant · Irish
Rowenlittle red one · Irish
Sloanraider · Irish

Murphy questions

What does the name Murphy mean?

Murphy means "sea warrior". It comes from Irish. From the Irish surname Ó Murchadha, from Murchadh, combining muir 'sea' and cath 'battle'. It is primarily a surname, also used as a given name.

Is Murphy a boy or girl name?

Murphy is used for both: about 32% of US babies named Murphy since 1880 were girls.

How popular is Murphy?

954 US babies were named Murphy in 2024. Its peak year was 2024.

How do you pronounce Murphy?

Murphy is usually pronounced MUR-fee.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.