Marra
An Italian feminine name of uncertain meaning, possibly related to the color maroon.
Name Census estimates that about 328 living Americans carry the first name Marra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marra today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marra births was 1989 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marra. 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
328
~ 1 in 1,044,983 Americans
Peak year
1989
19 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,584
Tracked since 1963
Census
Marra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 497 people with the first name Marra, which placed it at #20,692 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
#20,692
National first-name rank
People counted
497
497 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
60.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marra is White at 60.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.5%) and Black (9.5%). 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 Marra 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 Marra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.6% · 301
- Hispanic or Latino20.5% · 102
- Black or African American9.5% · 47
- Two or more races4.4% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.0% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 5
Popularity
Marra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marra from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 106 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marra 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 Marra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marra
The name Marra is believed to have originated from the Basque region spanning parts of Spain and France. It is thought to be derived from the ancient Basque word "marra," meaning "oak tree." This connection suggests that the name may have been used as a descriptive term for someone who lived near or was associated with oak trees.
The earliest recorded use of the name Marra dates back to the 12th century, when it appeared in medieval Basque documents and records. During this time, the name was likely used as a surname or a descriptive name to identify individuals within small communities.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Marra was Marra de Baigorri, a Basque nobleman born in the late 12th century. He was a prominent figure in the region and is mentioned in several historical texts from that period.
In the 15th century, Marra de Urtubia, a Basque poet and writer, gained recognition for her works that celebrated the Basque language and culture. Her writings have been preserved and studied by scholars interested in the literary traditions of the region.
During the 16th century, Marra Iturri was a notable Basque explorer and navigator who accompanied Spanish expeditions to the Americas. He is credited with contributing to the exploration and mapping of parts of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico regions.
In the 18th century, Marra Iturriza, a Basque historian and scholar, authored several influential works on the history and traditions of the Basque people. His writings played a significant role in preserving and promoting Basque cultural identity during a time of political and social upheaval.
Another notable figure with the name Marra was Marra Urriza, a Basque military leader who fought in the Napoleonic Wars during the early 19th century. He is remembered for his bravery and strategic leadership in defending the Basque territories against French occupation.
While the name Marra has its roots in the Basque region, it has been adopted and used in other parts of the world over time, although its historical significance remains closely tied to its Basque origins and the individuals who have carried this name throughout the centuries.
People
Marra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marra 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
Marra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 328 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marra 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 1,044,983 US residents.
Is Marra a common name?
We classify Marra as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 338 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marra most popular?
The single biggest year for Marra was 1989, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marra is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 497 people with the name Marra, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,692 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 Marra 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 Marra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marra leans strongly female. 485 people counted with this name were female (99.0%), compared with 5 male bearers (1.0%). 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 Marra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marra is White at 60.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.5%) and Black (9.5%). 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 Marra most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Marra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.6% (301 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 Marra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marra 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 Marra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marra 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 Marra 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 called Marra?
You can see how many Americans are named Marra on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.