girl's name
Mireille
mee-RAY
- Origin French
- Gender Girl
- Letters 8
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 131,541
Mireille was invented by a poet. Frédéric Mistral coined it for his 1859 Occitan epic Mirèio, and the poem won him the Nobel Prize — making it one of very few names traceable to a single literary work.
- Mireille is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 1947, when 4,980 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 58,952 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
Mireille over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 2,590 |
| 1910s | 4,855 |
| 1920s | 10,785 |
| 1930s | 15,365 |
| 1940s | 35,210 |
| 1950s | 33,590 |
| 1960s | 20,865 |
| 1970s | 5,475 |
| 1980s | 835 |
| 1990s | 170 |
| 2000s | 90 |
| 2010s | 40 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 35 |
What Mireille means
Mireille means to admire, or one to be admired. The Occitan verb behind it is the same root as the French admirer, though a link to the Hebrew Miriam is also proposed.
Where Mireille comes from
Mireille is the French form of the Occitan Mirèio, coined by Frédéric Mistral for his 1859 epic poem of that name — a work written to revive Occitan as a literary language, which won him a share of the 1904 Nobel Prize in Literature. Mistral built it on the Occitan mirar, to admire or behold, and a connection to the Hebrew Miriam has also been argued. Either way the name barely existed before the poem, and the poem is why it exists now.
Mireille in use
Mireille peaked in France in 1947, when 4,980 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It charts in four of the seven markets we track — 3212th in France on 10 births, 3340th in Canada, 7349th in England and Wales and 8713th in the United States on 12 — across 131,541 lifetime births. A name created in 1859 reaching nearly 5,000 births a year within ninety years is a rare trajectory.
How popular is Mireille?
In 2025, Mireille was given to 10 babies in France. It is a rare choice.
Where Mireille is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Mireille
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Mireille also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Mireille over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Mireille
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Mireille in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Mireille
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Mireille — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Mireille
What does the name Mireille mean?
To admire — from the Occitan mirar, though a link to Miriam is also proposed.
Who invented the name Mireille?
Frédéric Mistral, for his 1859 Occitan epic Mirèio. The poem won him a share of the 1904 Nobel Prize.
Did the name exist before the poem?
Barely. The poem is why it exists now.
How popular is Mireille?
3212th in France, and our data marks it stable.
Is Mireille a girl's or a boy's name?
Mireille is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
What are the nicknames for Mireille?
Mireille is usually shortened to Mimi.
Is Mireille a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Mireille currently ranks #3,212 in France. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.