Total births
820
Girls' name · since 1942
Marnita
820 babies named Marnita in U.S. Social Security records since 1942, with the highest year being 1962. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #11243
- among girls today
- 820
- born since 1942
- 1960s
- peak decade
- 37%
- more common than other girls
Marnita currently ranks #11243 among girls' names in America, with 820 babies recorded since 1942.
Marnita has 820 recorded births among girls since 1942, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #11243 as of the latest data, more common than 37% of girls, busiest in the 1960s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1942 to 2025.
- #11243 among girls today
- 820 born since 1942
- 1960s peak decade
- 37% more common than other girls
Data updated Jul 2026
The verdict
Marnita is currently the #11243 girls' name in America, more common than 37% of girls - 820 born since 1942, peaking in the 1960s.
- #11243
- among girls today
- 820
- born since 1942
- 1960s
- peak decade
- 37%
- more common than other girls
Marnita vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
#11243
of 17,726 girls in use
More common than 37% of names given to girls today.
1960s
Peak decade
58% of everyone ever named Marnita was born in this single decade.
1962
Single peak year
202 babies were named Marnita in 1962 - its busiest year on record.
How Marnita compares
820 Top 35% higher than 65% of 17,726 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Marnita's all-time total is 115% above the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Marnita | Median girls name (Emerly) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 820 | 382 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 202 | 48 | 19,840 |
Marnita's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Marnita's full recorded timeline at 1984, 26% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 74% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 1956, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1962 peak of 202 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Marnita at a glance
Outside the top 1,000Peak year
1962
Current rank
#11,243
Active since
1942
Marnita popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1942–2025
- Peak year (1962)
- 202
- Annual births at peak, across 84 years of records
Marnita by decade
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
1960s was Marnita's strongest decade.
473 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 58% of all-time use.
Marnita births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1940s 7
1940s
7 births
- 1950s 17
1950s
17 births
- 1960s
1960s
473 births
- 1970s 70
1970s
70 births
- 1980s 82
1980s
82 births
- 1990s 66
1990s
66 births
- 2000s 58
2000s
58 births
- 2010s 28
2010s
28 births
- 2020s 19
2020s
19 births
What this shows Peak: 1960s at 473 births (58% of all-time use).
How Marnita compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Marnita's total volume
Marnita vs 15 similarly-sized girls names
Marnita by state
Where Marnita concentrates geographically, total births since 1942
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Ohio | | 57 | 7.0% |
| #2 | Illinois | | 39 | 4.8% |
| #3 | Indiana | | 22 | 2.7% |
| #4 | Missouri | | 18 | 2.2% |
| #5 | Florida | | 17 | 2.1% |
| #6 | North Carolina | | 17 | 2.1% |
| #7 | Virginia | | 16 | 2.0% |
| #8 | Tennessee | | 14 | 1.7% |
Ohio share of Marnita's total US births 7.0%
Even split
57 of 820 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 22 reporting states.
Marnita appears in 22 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Marnita? ▼
Marnita has been given to 820 babies in the U.S. since 1942, according to SSA data. Among girls, it ranks #11243 as of the latest data. 202 babies were born in 1962, its single highest year.
When was Marnita most popular? ▼
Marnita was most popular in the 1960s decade with 473 total births. The single peak year was 1962.
Where is Marnita most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Marnita are Ohio (57 births), Illinois (39 births), Indiana (22 births).
How long has the name Marnita been used? ▼
The SSA has tracked Marnita since 1942 -- 84 years through the most recent 2025 data.
What names are similar to Marnita? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Mary, Margaret, Maria, Martha, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.
What to do with Marnita's data
- Marnita's decade-level peak was the 1960s (473 total births); usage has since declined to 19 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Ohio records the most Marnitas (57 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Ohio names
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Marnita
Nearby Names Like Marnita
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Marnita
Mary Girl
#131 4,141,481 births
Margaret Girl
#119 1,264,774 births
Maria Girl
#74 566,111 births
Martha Girl
#666 551,741 births
Marie Girl
#632 540,077 births
Compare Marnita side by side: Marnita vs Mary Marnita vs Margaret Marnita vs Maria
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Marnita
Starlet #11242
1,057 births · Peak 1981
Tami #11244
37,927 births · Peak 1959
Laury #11241
882 births · Peak 1960
Gita #11245
508 births · Peak 1970
Sarabeth #11240
1,300 births · Peak 2006
Jonni #11246
1,293 births · Peak 1957
Noralyn #11239
142 births · Peak 2014
Tavia #11247
2,490 births · Peak 1993
Data Sources
Data as of July 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1942–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Marnita: #11243 Girls' Name - 820 Births, Peak 1962." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/marnita. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Marnita draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of July 2026.