Marilyn
Marilyn was given to 356 girls in 2025, #761 among girls’ names; 374,857 Americans have been recorded with it since 1899 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 198,000 Americans named Marilyn and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (53% of everyone recorded); the median is 74 years old and half are between 64 and 81.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Marilyn by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Marilyn mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Marilyn is “a female given name originating as a coinage.”
A twentieth-century blend of Mary and Lynn.
/ˈmæɹ.ɪ.lɪn/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Marilyn?
#761 among girls’ names, 2025
Marilyn fell from #426 in 2015 to #761 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.42 to 0.22 per 1,000.
11,905 babies in 1947, the peak
Marilyn peaked in 1947, when 11,905 babies were given it (11,881 girls, #29 among girls’ names). The 356 births of 2025 are 3% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 356 | #761 | 0.22 |
| 2024 | 436 | #665 | 0.27 |
| 2023 | 378 | #744 | 0.24 |
| 2022 | 423 | #698 | 0.26 |
| 2021 | 409 | #706 | 0.25 |
| 2020 | 457 | #634 | 0.28 |
| 2019 | 467 | #634 | 0.28 |
| 2018 | 498 | #607 | 0.29 |
| 2017 | 585 | #531 | 0.34 |
| 2016 | 634 | #491 | 0.36 |
Every recorded year (126)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 748 | #426 | 0.42 |
| 2014 | 798 | #404 | 0.45 |
| 2013 | 837 | #373 | 0.48 |
| 2012 | 744 | #422 | 0.42 |
| 2011 | 535 | #545 | 0.30 |
| 2010 | 536 | #548 | 0.30 |
| 2009 | 524 | #581 | 0.29 |
| 2008 | 545 | #565 | 0.29 |
| 2007 | 599 | #522 | 0.31 |
| 2006 | 598 | #509 | 0.31 |
| 2005 | 513 | #560 | 0.28 |
| 2004 | 499 | #573 | 0.27 |
| 2003 | 514 | #545 | 0.28 |
| 2002 | 507 | #543 | 0.28 |
| 2001 | 553 | #496 | 0.31 |
| 2000 | 524 | #509 | 0.29 |
| 1999 | 481 | #527 | 0.27 |
| 1998 | 518 | #490 | 0.29 |
| 1997 | 567 | #447 | 0.33 |
| 1996 | 611 | #416 | 0.35 |
| 1995 | 576 | #446 | 0.33 |
| 1994 | 552 | #460 | 0.31 |
| 1993 | 599 | #415 | 0.33 |
| 1992 | 680 | #379 | 0.37 |
| 1991 | 584 | #435 | 0.31 |
| 1990 | 582 | #432 | 0.31 |
| 1989 | 628 | #394 | 0.34 |
| 1988 | 547 | #425 | 0.31 |
| 1987 | 532 | #418 | 0.31 |
| 1986 | 488 | #442 | 0.28 |
| 1985 | 522 | #422 | 0.30 |
| 1984 | 509 | #418 | 0.30 |
| 1983 | 612 | #368 | 0.37 |
| 1982 | 582 | #400 | 0.34 |
| 1981 | 579 | #390 | 0.35 |
| 1980 | 579 | #394 | 0.35 |
| 1979 | 559 | #389 | 0.35 |
| 1978 | 634 | #341 | 0.41 |
| 1977 | 608 | #361 | 0.40 |
| 1976 | 648 | #341 | 0.44 |
| 1975 | 651 | #339 | 0.45 |
| 1974 | 725 | #315 | 0.49 |
| 1973 | 777 | #300 | 0.53 |
| 1972 | 856 | #294 | 0.56 |
| 1971 | 1,216 | #240 | 0.73 |
| 1970 | 1,256 | #248 | 0.72 |
| 1969 | 1,398 | #218 | 0.83 |
| 1968 | 1,577 | #198 | 1.0 |
| 1967 | 1,960 | #167 | 1.2 |
| 1966 | 1,994 | #170 | 1.2 |
| 1965 | 2,490 | #151 | 1.4 |
| 1964 | 2,793 | #146 | 1.5 |
| 1963 | 3,314 | #125 | 1.7 |
| 1962 | 3,608 | #127 | 1.8 |
| 1961 | 3,797 | #122 | 1.9 |
| 1960 | 4,071 | #118 | 2.0 |
| 1959 | 4,343 | #109 | 2.1 |
| 1958 | 4,948 | #96 | 2.5 |
| 1957 | 5,743 | #82 | 2.8 |
| 1956 | 6,926 | #70 | 3.4 |
| 1955 | 8,409 | #49 | 4.3 |
| 1954 | 10,814 | #35 | 5.6 |
| 1953 | 10,742 | #36 | 5.7 |
| 1952 | 9,803 | #38 | 5.3 |
| 1951 | 9,148 | #41 | 5.1 |
| 1950 | 9,285 | #37 | 5.4 |
| 1949 | 9,865 | #33 | 5.8 |
| 1948 | 9,937 | #33 | 5.9 |
| 1947 | 11,881 | #29 | 6.7 |
| 1946 | 10,711 | #29 | 6.8 |
| 1945 | 9,534 | #27 | 7.3 |
| 1944 | 9,738 | #27 | 7.3 |
| 1943 | 10,145 | #27 | 7.3 |
| 1942 | 9,906 | #27 | 7.3 |
| 1941 | 8,556 | #30 | 7.1 |
| 1940 | 8,704 | #25 | 7.6 |
| 1939 | 9,538 | #19 | 8.7 |
| 1938 | 9,745 | #19 | 8.8 |
| 1937 | 9,739 | #13 | 9.2 |
| 1936 | 11,064 | #13 | 10.6 |
| 1935 | 10,418 | #14 | 9.9 |
| 1934 | 9,382 | #17 | 9.0 |
| 1933 | 9,126 | #16 | 9.1 |
| 1932 | 10,567 | #16 | 9.9 |
| 1931 | 9,664 | #19 | 9.1 |
| 1930 | 9,288 | #22 | 8.2 |
| 1929 | 6,731 | #33 | 6.0 |
| 1928 | 6,066 | #38 | 5.3 |
| 1927 | 5,554 | #46 | 4.7 |
| 1926 | 4,370 | #65 | 3.7 |
| 1925 | 3,419 | #83 | 2.8 |
| 1924 | 2,860 | #101 | 2.3 |
| 1923 | 2,286 | #118 | 1.9 |
| 1922 | 1,698 | #145 | 1.4 |
| 1921 | 696 | #253 | 0.56 |
| 1920 | 522 | #288 | 0.44 |
| 1919 | 404 | #314 | 0.36 |
| 1918 | 245 | #422 | 0.21 |
| 1917 | 164 | #523 | 0.15 |
| 1916 | 146 | #555 | 0.14 |
| 1915 | 109 | #631 | 0.11 |
| 1914 | 75 | #675 | 0.10 |
| 1913 | 58 | #686 | 0.09 |
| 1912 | 56 | #671 | 0.10 |
| 1911 | 31 | #784 | 0.07 |
| 1910 | 18 | #1,051 | 0.05 |
| 1909 | 21 | #899 | 0.06 |
| 1908 | 25 | #782 | 0.07 |
| 1907 | 17 | #939 | 0.05 |
| 1906 | 24 | #759 | 0.08 |
| 1905 | 10 | #1,275 | 0.03 |
| 1904 | 6 | #1,787 | 0.02 |
| 1903 | 11 | #1,114 | 0.04 |
| 1901 | 6 | #1,595 | 0.03 |
| 1900 | 12 | #1,147 | 0.04 |
| 1899 | 5 | #1,758 | 0.02 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Marilyn a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Marilyn has been given almost only to girls: 1,066 boys in 126 years of records.
Girls and boys named Marilyn: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Marilyn, and how old are they?
198,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 53% of the 374,857 Americans ever recorded as Marilyn. The median Marilyn alive today is 74 years old; half are between 64 and 81.
The 2020 Census counted 248,652 people named Marilyn (248,352 women and girls, 300 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 239,467 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 51,100 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 105,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 16,500 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 8,970 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 8,670 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 6,980 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Marilyn born?
The states with the most babies named Marilyn are New York, Illinois and California, with 26% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 39,913 | #777 | 1.2× |
| Illinois | 29,359 | #1,086 | 1.5× |
| California | 28,572 | #633 | 1.2× |
| Ohio | 26,086 | #612 | 1.4× |
| Michigan | 20,689 | #1,348 | 1.3× |
| Pennsylvania | 17,351 | #609 | 0.7× |
| Texas | 14,863 | #795 | 0.7× |
| Indiana | 13,504 | #565 | 1.4× |
| Massachusetts | 11,847 | #729 | 1.0× |
| Iowa | 11,113 | not ranked | 1.6× |
Where Marilyn is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Marilyn is most over-represented in Iowa: since 1910 it was given 1.6 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Marilyn with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 414,961 babies since 1880, Marilyn is the most given (90% of them). In 2025 it was given to 356 of their 501 babies (71%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Marilyn
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Marilyn and names like it
- Compare Marilyn and MarilynnBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sMarilyn peaked in 1947.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Marilyn since 1910.
- Coined namesWiktionary’s origin for Marilyn: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1947The year the most babies were named Marilyn.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Marilyn alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with MMost given first.