Marvelle
Feminine name of French origin derived from the Latin "mirabilis" meaning "marvelous" or "wonderful".
Name Census estimates that about 151 living Americans carry the first name Marvelle. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 85.5% of registrations being female. The average person named Marvelle today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marvelle births was 1917 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marvelle. 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
- • Marvelle was once a predominantly female name but has become increasingly popular for boys in recent decades.
People living today
151
~ 1 in 2,269,896 Americans
Peak year
1917
23 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
2021 SSA rank
#10,391
Tracked since 1908
Census
Marvelle in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 360 people with the first name Marvelle, which placed it at #26,062 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
#26,062
National first-name rank
People counted
360
360 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
53.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marvelle
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marvelle is Black at 53.6%. The next largest groups are White (34.4%) and Two or More Races (5.3%). 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 Marvelle 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 Marvelle at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American53.6% · 193
- White34.4% · 124
- Two or more races5.3% · 19
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Marvelle
Marvelle leans heavily female at 85.5% of total registrations, but 75 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Marvelle as a male name
- Ranked #10,391 in 2021
- 7 male births in 2021
- Peak: 1990 (7 births)
Marvelle as a female name
- Ranked #17,129 in 2019
- 5 female births in 2019
- Peak: 1917 (23 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Marvelle on both sides of the split. Of the 364 people counted with this name, 137 were male (37.6%) and 227 were female (62.4%).
Popularity
Marvelle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marvelle from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 141 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marvelle 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 Marvelle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marvelles live
Origin
Meaning and history of Marvelle
The name Marvelle is a relatively modern creation, a combination of the French word "merveille" meaning "marvel" or "wonder," and the suffix "-elle," which is a common feminine ending in French names. It is believed to have originated in the early 20th century, likely in France or a French-speaking region.
While the name itself is a modern invention, its root word "merveille" has a rich history dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Latin word "mirabilia," meaning "wonderful things" or "marvels." The word was commonly used in medieval French literature to describe extraordinary or wondrous events, objects, or phenomena.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Marvelle can be traced back to a character named Marvelle DuBois in the 1920 novel "The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton. However, it is unclear whether Wharton invented the name or if it was already in use at the time.
Throughout history, a few notable individuals have borne the name Marvelle, though it has never been particularly common. One of the earliest recorded persons with this name was Marvelle Gilliam (1897-1982), an American educator and civil rights activist from Ohio. She was a pioneering figure in the fight for equal education opportunities for African Americans.
Another noteworthy Marvelle was Marvelle Underwood (1912-1993), an American lawyer and judge from Illinois. She was the first African American woman to serve on the Cook County Circuit Court and was a trailblazer in the legal profession.
In the realm of literature, Marvelle Pease (1905-1986) was an American writer and poet known for her works exploring themes of nature and spirituality. Her collection of poems, "The Burning Tree," was widely acclaimed.
Marvelle Gonsalves (1910-1987) was a notable figure in the world of dance. She was a Brazilian choreographer and dancer who helped popularize Brazilian folk dances on the international stage.
Lastly, Marvelle McIntyre (1918-2008) was an American actress and singer who appeared in several Broadway musicals and films in the 1940s and 1950s, including the classic "Singin' in the Rain."
While the name Marvelle has never been a widely popular choice, its unique and whimsical sound has appealed to some parents over the years, particularly in the early to mid-20th century. Its connection to the French word "merveille" and its connotations of wonder and marvel have likely contributed to its appeal.
People
Marvelle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marvelle 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
Marvelle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marvelle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 151 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marvelle 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 2,269,896 US residents.
Is Marvelle a common name?
We classify Marvelle as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 517 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marvelle most popular?
The single biggest year for Marvelle was 1917, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marvelle is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marvelle in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 360 people with the name Marvelle, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,062 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 Marvelle 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 Marvelle?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Marvelle on both sides of the split. Of the 364 people counted with this name, 137 were male (37.6%) and 227 were female (62.4%). 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 Marvelle?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marvelle is Black at 53.6%. The next largest groups are White (34.4%) and Two or More Races (5.3%). 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 Marvelle most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Marvelle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.6% (193 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 Marvelle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marvelle a female name?
Yes, 85.5% of people registered as Marvelle 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 Marvelle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marvelle 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 Marvelle 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 Marvelle as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.