Marjean
Variant of the French name Marguerite, meaning "pearl".
Name Census estimates that about 654 living Americans carry the first name Marjean. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marjean today is around 74 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marjean births was 1951 (55 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marjean. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Marjean is about 74 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Marjeans were born before 1962.
People living today
654
~ 1 in 524,089 Americans
Peak year
1951
55 babies that year
Average age
74
years old
1981 SSA rank
#9,864
Tracked since 1915
Census
Marjean in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,045 people with the first name Marjean, which placed it at #12,050 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
#12,050
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,045 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
90.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marjean
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marjean is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Marjean 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 Marjean at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.1% · 942
- Black or African American5.0% · 52
- Two or more races2.1% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 8
Popularity
Marjean: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marjean from the 1910s through to the 1980s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 399 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marjean 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 Marjean during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marjeans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. Utah, Wisconsin, Minnesota recorded the most babies named Marjean, while Washington, Montana, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 22 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marjean
The name Marjean is a unique and intriguing moniker with a rich tapestry of history and meaning woven throughout its origins. Tracing its roots back to the ancient French language, the name Marjean is believed to be a combination of the names Marie and Jeanne, both of which were immensely popular in France during the Middle Ages.
Marie, the first component of Marjean, has its origins in the Hebrew name Miriam, which means "beloved" or "wished-for child." This name gained widespread recognition and reverence due to its association with the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ in Christian tradition. Jeanne, on the other hand, is the French form of the name Joan, derived from the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "God is gracious."
While there are no definitive historical records of the name Marjean appearing in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its component names, Marie and Jeanne, have been celebrated throughout history. One of the earliest and most renowned individuals bearing the name Marie was Marie de France, a 12th-century French poet and fabulist who wrote extensively on themes of courtly love and folklore.
Another notable figure was Jeanne d'Arc, better known as Joan of Arc, the legendary French heroine who played a pivotal role in the Hundred Years' War against the English during the 15th century. Born in 1412, Jeanne d'Arc's bravery and unwavering faith inspired generations to come, and she was eventually canonized as a Catholic saint.
In the realm of literature, Marjean finds its place in the works of renowned authors. One such figure was Marjean Shuirding, an American writer and journalist born in 1927, known for her contributions to the Detroit Free Press and her coverage of the civil rights movement.
Moving into the 20th century, Marjean Holden, born in 1923, was an influential American educator and advocate for children's literacy. Her efforts to promote reading and improve educational opportunities for underprivileged children left a lasting impact on the field of education.
Another notable individual was Marjean Wilkinson, a Canadian politician born in 1945, who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and played a significant role in shaping policies related to social services and community development.
While the name Marjean may not be as prevalent as its individual components, it carries a rich heritage and a tapestry of historical significance, weaving together elements of French, Hebrew, and Christian traditions. From literary figures to political leaders and advocates, the name Marjean has been borne by remarkable individuals who have left an indelible mark on their respective fields and societies.
People
Marjean + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marjean 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
Marjean: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marjean?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 654 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marjean 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 524,089 US residents.
Is Marjean a common name?
We classify Marjean as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,558 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marjean most popular?
The single biggest year for Marjean was 1951, when 55 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marjean is about 74 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marjean in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,045 people with the name Marjean, or 0.35 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,050 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 Marjean 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 Marjean?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marjean appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,037 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Marjean?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marjean is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Marjean most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Marjean in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (942 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 Marjean in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marjean a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marjean 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 Marjean still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marjean 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 Marjean 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 people have Marjean as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.