# Marilyn (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/marilyn/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmæɹ.ɪ.lɪn/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Marylyn |
| US babies named this | 374,857 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,066 / 373,791 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 277, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

A twentieth-century blend of Mary and Lynn.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 535 | 545 |
| 2012 | 744 | 422 |
| 2013 | 837 | 373 |
| 2014 | 798 | 404 |
| 2015 | 748 | 426 |
| 2016 | 634 | 491 |
| 2017 | 585 | 531 |
| 2018 | 498 | 607 |
| 2019 | 467 | 634 |
| 2020 | 457 | 634 |
| 2021 | 409 | 706 |
| 2022 | 423 | 698 |
| 2023 | 378 | 744 |
| 2024 | 436 | 665 |
| 2025 | 356 | 761 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 7 | 4,219 |
| 1972 | 10 | 3,271 |
| 1973 | 12 | 2,960 |
| 1974 | 6 | 5,016 |
| 1975 | 6 | 5,207 |
| 1978 | 6 | 5,522 |
| 1979 | 9 | 4,272 |
| 1984 | 8 | 4,822 |
| 1985 | 6 | 6,239 |
| 1986 | 5 | 7,422 |
| 1988 | 5 | 8,072 |
| 1989 | 8 | 6,005 |
| 1993 | 5 | 9,629 |
| 1995 | 5 | 9,769 |
| 1997 | 6 | 8,866 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 12 | 2,150 |
| 2012 | 10 | 2,521 |
| 2013 | 17 | 1,707 |
| 2014 | 18 | 1,628 |
| 2015 | 20 | 1,549 |
| 2016 | 11 | 2,367 |
| 2017 | 10 | 2,502 |
| 2018 | 9 | 2,674 |
| 2019 | 13 | 2,040 |
| 2020 | 11 | 2,300 |
| 2021 | 17 | 1,692 |
| 2022 | 9 | 2,673 |
| 2023 | 13 | 2,063 |
| 2024 | 20 | 1,541 |
| 2025 | 17 | 1,719 |

## People named Marilyn

- Marilyn Monroe, American actress and model (1926–1962)
- Marilyn Manson, American musician (born 1969)
- Marilyn Chambers, American pornographic actress (1952-2009)
- Marilyn Horne, American mezzo-soprano opera singer (born 1934)
- Marilyn Maxwell, American actress and singer (1921–1972)
- Marilyn Burns, American actress (1949–2014)
- Marilyn Ferguson, American writer (1938-2008)
- Marilyn Miller, Broadway musical star (1898–1936)
- Marilyn Okoro, British athletics competitor
- Marilyn Strathern, British anthropologist, born 1941
- Marilyn McCord Adams, American philosopher (1943–2017)
- Marilyn Black, Australian sprinter

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.