Marigold
A flower name from the French word for the golden blooms.
Name Census estimates that about 2,402 living Americans carry the first name Marigold. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marigold today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marigold births was 2024 (406 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marigold. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Marigold with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Marigold is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 6 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.4K
~ 1 in 142,695 Americans
Peak year
2024
406 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#693
Tracked since 1918
Census
Marigold in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,039 people with the first name Marigold, which placed it at #12,107 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
#12,107
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,039 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
67.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marigold
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marigold is White at 67.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.5%) and Two or More Races (7.7%). 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 Marigold 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 Marigold at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.6% · 702
- Asian and Pacific Islander12.5% · 130
- Two or more races7.7% · 80
- Hispanic or Latino6.9% · 72
- Black or African American4.7% · 49
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 6
Popularity
Marigold: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marigold from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 1,617 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marigold 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 Marigold during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marigolds live
The SSA's state-level files cover 35 states and territories. California, Texas, Washington recorded the most babies named Marigold, while Kentucky, Iowa, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 49 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marigold
The name Marigold is derived from the English word for the flower of the same name. The flower itself gets its name from the Old English "merje-golde," which translates to "precious gold." This name was likely chosen for the flower's golden-yellow color, which was associated with wealth and beauty.
The name Marigold first emerged as a given name in England during the 16th century. It was a popular name among the upper classes, who were fond of nature names and floral names for their children. The earliest recorded use of the name Marigold dates back to 1580, when it appeared in parish records.
In literature, one of the earliest references to the name Marigold can be found in the 1616 play "The Witch" by Thomas Middleton. The play features a character named Marigold, who is described as a beautiful and virtuous young woman.
One of the most famous historical figures with the name Marigold was Marigold Chapey (1545-1617), a French courtier and mistress to King Henry IV of France. She was known for her beauty and her influence at the French court.
Another notable Marigold from history was Marigold Blethyn (1671-1748), an English philanthropist and founder of a charity school for poor children in London. She was known for her generosity and her commitment to educating underprivileged children.
In the 19th century, Marigold Churchill (1819-1905) was a British aristocrat and socialite who was known for her wit and her involvement in various charitable causes. She was a close friend of Queen Victoria and was a prominent figure in London society.
Marigold Linton (1887-1963) was a British writer and journalist who was best known for her novels and short stories about life in rural England. Her works often featured strong female characters and explored themes of feminism and social justice.
Another notable Marigold from the 20th century was Marigold Gambler (1921-2008), an American actress and singer who appeared in several Broadway musicals and Hollywood films during the 1940s and 1950s. She was known for her powerful voice and her comedic talent.
People
Marigold + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marigold 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
Marigold: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marigold?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,402 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marigold 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 142,695 US residents.
Is Marigold a common name?
We classify Marigold as "Rare". It ranks above 94.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,474 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marigold most popular?
The single biggest year for Marigold was 2024, when 406 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marigold is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marigold in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,039 people with the name Marigold, or 0.34 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,107 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 Marigold 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 Marigold?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marigold appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,039 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Marigold?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marigold is White at 67.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.5%) and Two or More Races (7.7%). 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 Marigold most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Marigold in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.6% (702 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 Marigold in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marigold a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marigold 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 Marigold still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marigold 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 Marigold 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 many Americans are named Marigold?
You can see how many people share the name Marigold on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.