Marlane
A feminine given name combining the names Marlene and Jane.
Name Census estimates that about 426 living Americans carry the first name Marlane. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marlane today is around 70 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marlane births was 1949 (54 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marlane. 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 Marlane is about 70 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Marlanes were born before 1966.
People living today
426
~ 1 in 804,588 Americans
Peak year
1949
54 babies that year
Average age
70
years old
2002 SSA rank
#17,162
Tracked since 1932
Census
Marlane in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 637 people with the first name Marlane, which placed it at #17,359 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
#17,359
National first-name rank
People counted
637
637 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
85.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marlane
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marlane is White at 85.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.9%) and Black (4.2%). 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 Marlane 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 Marlane at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.1% · 542
- Hispanic or Latino8.9% · 57
- Black or African American4.2% · 27
- Two or more races1.4% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 2
Popularity
Marlane: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marlane from the 1930s through to the 2000s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 249 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marlane 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 Marlane during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marlanes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Pennsylvania, Ohio, California recorded the most babies named Marlane, while New Jersey, California, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 38 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marlane
The name Marlane has its origins in the Old French language, dating back to the medieval period around the 12th century. It is a combination of the French words "mer" meaning "sea" and "lane" meaning "wool" or "woolen fabric." The name likely originated as a surname for individuals who worked with woolen fabrics or traded in such materials near the sea.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Marlane can be found in a 13th-century French manuscript detailing the merchant guilds of Marseille. The document mentions a "Marlane de la Mer," suggesting the name was used as a descriptive identifier for an individual's occupation or place of residence.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals bearing the name Marlane. In the 15th century, Marlane du Plessis was a renowned French weaver and textile merchant who established a successful trade network along the Mediterranean coast. Her innovative techniques and business acumen earned her recognition among the merchant class of the time.
During the Renaissance, Marlane de Montfort was a celebrated French poet and playwright. Born in 1542, her works often explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition. Her poetic anthology, "Odes à la Mer" (Odes to the Sea), published in 1578, remains a significant contribution to French literature.
In the 18th century, Marlane Beaumont was a French explorer and naturalist. Born in 1712, she embarked on several expeditions to the Caribbean and South America, documenting the flora and fauna of the regions. Her writings and detailed illustrations were instrumental in advancing the study of natural history during the Age of Enlightenment.
Moving into the 19th century, Marlane Duval was a prominent figure in the French Resistance during World War II. Born in 1905, she played a crucial role in organizing and coordinating underground resistance efforts against the Nazi occupation. Her bravery and dedication to the cause earned her numerous honors and decorations.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Marlane. The name's unique blend of maritime and textile connotations has contributed to its enduring presence, carrying with it a rich tapestry of cultural and historical significance.
People
Marlane + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marlane 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
Marlane: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marlane?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 426 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marlane 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 804,588 US residents.
Is Marlane a common name?
We classify Marlane as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 697 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marlane most popular?
The single biggest year for Marlane was 1949, when 54 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marlane is about 70 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marlane in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 637 people with the name Marlane, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,359 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 Marlane 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 Marlane?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marlane leans strongly female. 641 people counted with this name were female (98.6%), compared with 9 male bearers (1.4%). 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 Marlane?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marlane is White at 85.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.9%) and Black (4.2%). 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 Marlane most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Marlane in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.1% (542 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 Marlane in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marlane a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marlane 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 Marlane still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marlane 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 Marlane 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 are named Marlane?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.