Myrtle

Meaning of Myrtle

Myrtle, pronounced MUR-tl (/ˈmɜːtəl/ in British and /ˈmɜrtəl/ in American English), derives from the Latin myrtus and the glossy evergreen—an enduring symbol of love, fertility and eternal devotion in Greco-Roman myth, where it was sacred to Aphrodite. Within Anglo-American naming traditions, it reached its zenith in the early twentieth century, notably across the American South: Louisiana records place Myrtle among the top thirty names from 1910 (ranked twenty-fourth with eighty-two births) through the mid-1920s, before a steady descent past the top one hundred by the 1940s and a stabilization around the 150th position by the 1960s. This trajectory—dryly ironic for a name that evokes evergreen permanence—now lends Myrtle a gently vintage allure: understated yet rich with classical resonance, ideal for parents seeking a touch of old-world dignity without veering into archaism.