Marianela
A feminine diminutive form of "Maria", from the Hebrew name meaning "bitter" or "beloved lady".
Name Census estimates that about 585 living Americans carry the first name Marianela. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marianela today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marianela births was 1967 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marianela. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
585
~ 1 in 585,905 Americans
Peak year
1967
17 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,753
Tracked since 1946
Census
Marianela in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,145 people with the first name Marianela, which placed it at #5,461 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#5,461
National first-name rank
People counted
3.1K
3,145 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
97.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marianela
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marianela is Hispanic at 97.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Marianela described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Marianela at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino97.8% · 3,075
- White1.3% · 42
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 14
- Black or African American0.3% · 9
- Two or more races0.1% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Popularity
Marianela: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marianela from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 126 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marianela by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Marianela during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marianelas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Marianela
The name Marianela is a Spanish diminutive form of the name Maria, which has its roots in the Hebrew name Miryam. Miryam is believed to have originated from the Hebrew words "mar" meaning "bitter" and "yam" meaning "sea." The name Maria was popularized by the veneration of the Virgin Mary in the Christian tradition.
Marianela is a name that gained popularity in Spain and Latin American countries influenced by Spanish culture. It is a endearing version of Maria, with the addition of the diminutive suffix "-nela." This variation of the name was likely created to add a sense of affection and intimacy when addressing a young girl named Maria.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Marianela can be found in the novel "Marianela" written by the Spanish author Benito Pérez Galdós in 1878. The novel's protagonist, a young woman named Marianela, exemplifies the virtues of compassion and selflessness, which may have contributed to the popularity of the name.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Marianela. One such person was Marianela García Villas (1923-2022), a Cuban writer and essayist known for her contributions to Latin American literature. Another was Marianela Núñez (born 1982), a renowned Argentine ballet dancer who has performed with the Royal Ballet in London.
In the world of art, Marianela de la Hoz (born 1964) is a Colombian painter and sculptor whose works often explore themes of identity and cultural heritage. Marianela Arrozpide (1936-2005) was a Uruguayan journalist and writer who wrote extensively about women's rights and social issues.
Lastly, Marianela Ledesma (born 1975) is an Argentine actress and television presenter who has gained popularity for her roles in various telenovelas and films.
While the name Marianela has its origins in Spanish-speaking cultures, it has transcended geographical boundaries and has been adopted by individuals around the world, each adding their own unique story to the rich tapestry of this name's history.
People
Marianela + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marianela as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Marianela: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marianela?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 585 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marianela going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 585,905 US residents.
Is Marianela a common name?
We classify Marianela as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 640 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marianela most popular?
The single biggest year for Marianela was 1967, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marianela is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marianela in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,145 people with the name Marianela, or 1.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,461 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Marianela in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Marianela?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marianela appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,144 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Marianela?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marianela is Hispanic at 97.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Marianela most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Marianela in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.8% (3,075 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Marianela in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marianela a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marianela in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Marianela still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marianela in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Marianela can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Marianela?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.