Marly
A feminine name of French origin meaning "meadow of the marly ground".
Name Census estimates that about 1,591 living Americans carry the first name Marly. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marly today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marly births was 2008 (89 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marly. 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 Marly with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 215,433 Americans
Peak year
2008
89 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2006 SSA rank
#3,610
Tracked since 1949
Census
Marly in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,670 people with the first name Marly, which placed it at #6,103 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
#6,103
National first-name rank
People counted
2.7K
2,670 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
47.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marly
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marly is White at 47.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (32.8%) and Black (13.0%). 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 Marly 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 Marly at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.0% · 1,255
- Hispanic or Latino32.8% · 876
- Black or African American13.0% · 348
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 99
- Two or more races2.7% · 72
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 20
Gender
Gender distribution for Marly
Out of the 1,640 babies given the name Marly since 1880, 99.7% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Marly as a male name
- Ranked #13,299 in 2006
- 5 male births in 2006
- Peak: 2006 (5 births)
Marly as a female name
- Ranked #3,610 in 2024
- 43 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2008 (89 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marly leans strongly female. 2,559 people counted with this name were female (95.7%), compared with 114 male bearers (4.3%).
Popularity
Marly: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marly from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 502 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Marly remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marly 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 Marly during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marlys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, New York, Florida recorded the most babies named Marly, while Wisconsin, North Carolina, Tennessee recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 39 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marly
The name Marly is believed to have its origins in the Germanic languages, specifically Old High German. It is thought to be derived from the Germanic root "mar," meaning "famous" or "celebrated." This root can also be found in other names like Marlene and Marlon.
The earliest known record of the name Marly dates back to the 9th century, when it appeared as a personal name in various Germanic regions of Europe. During the Middle Ages, the name was particularly popular in areas such as present-day Germany, France, and the Low Countries.
One notable historical figure bearing the name Marly was Marly of Burgundy, a 13th-century noblewoman and courtier at the court of King Philip III of France. She was known for her influential role in political affairs during that period.
In the realm of literature, the name Marly appears in several works from the 16th and 17th centuries. For instance, there is a character named Marly in the play "The Maid's Tragedy" by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, which was first performed in 1611.
Another notable figure with the name Marly was Marly Curti, an Italian artist and engraver who lived from 1639 to 1707. He was renowned for his intricate and detailed engravings, many of which depicted religious scenes and portraits.
In the 18th century, Marly Bénigne Colbert, Marquis de Seignelay (1651-1690), was a prominent French statesman and naval administrator who served under King Louis XIV. He played a significant role in the development of the French navy during his tenure.
Moving into the 19th century, Marly Youmans (1832-1899) was an American poet and writer who gained recognition for her works exploring themes of nature and spirituality. Her poetry collections, such as "Lyrics of a Day" and "Poems of the South," were well-received during her lifetime.
The name Marly has maintained a presence throughout history, albeit not as widespread as some other names. Its Germanic roots and associations with notable individuals from various fields have contributed to its enduring legacy as a given name.
People
Marly + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marly 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
Marly: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marly?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,591 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marly 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 215,433 US residents.
Is Marly a common name?
We classify Marly as "Rare". It ranks above 92.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,640 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marly most popular?
The single biggest year for Marly was 2008, when 89 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marly is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marly in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,670 people with the name Marly, or 0.88 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,103 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 Marly 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 Marly?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marly leans strongly female. 2,559 people counted with this name were female (95.7%), compared with 114 male bearers (4.3%). 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 Marly?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marly is White at 47.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (32.8%) and Black (13.0%). 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 Marly most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Marly in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.0% (1,255 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 Marly in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marly a female name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Marly 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 Marly still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marly 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 Marly 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 the name Marly?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Marly, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.