Marae
A Maori name referring to a sacred meeting place or ceremonial site.
Name Census estimates that about 231 living Americans carry the first name Marae. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marae today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marae births was 2005 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marae. 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
231
~ 1 in 1,483,785 Americans
Peak year
2005
14 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2022 SSA rank
#16,828
Tracked since 1970
Census
Marae in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 295 people with the first name Marae, which placed it at #29,826 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
#29,826
National first-name rank
People counted
295
295 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
55.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marae
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marae is White at 55.9%. The next largest groups are Black (22.4%) and Hispanic (12.5%). 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 Marae 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 Marae at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.9% · 165
- Black or African American22.4% · 66
- Hispanic or Latino12.5% · 37
- Two or more races4.7% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 2
Popularity
Marae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marae from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 88 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
Marae 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 Marae 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 Marae
The given name Marae has its origins in the Polynesian languages, specifically the Maori language of New Zealand. It is derived from the Maori word "marae," which refers to a sacred communal space or plaza within a Maori village where important ceremonies, gatherings, and community events are held. The word "marae" itself is thought to have been derived from an older Polynesian word meaning "cleared area" or "open space."
In Maori culture, the marae serves as the heart of the community and holds significant spiritual and cultural significance. It is a place where the Maori people gather to celebrate their traditions, honor their ancestors, and conduct important rituals and ceremonies. The name Marae, when given to a child, may have been intended to convey a connection to this sacred space and the cultural traditions it represents.
The earliest recorded use of the name Marae dates back to the late 18th century, when European explorers and missionaries began documenting Maori language and culture. However, it is likely that the name was in use among the Maori people long before written records were kept.
One notable figure in history who bore the name Marae was Marae Te Rohe, a Maori chief and warrior who lived in the early 19th century. He was known for his leadership and involvement in the Musket Wars, a series of conflicts among Maori tribes that occurred during the early period of European contact and the introduction of firearms.
Another historical figure named Marae was Marae Waihau, a Maori tohunga (priest or expert) who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was renowned for his knowledge of traditional Maori rituals, customs, and lore, and played a significant role in preserving and passing down this knowledge to future generations.
In the realm of Maori literature, the name Marae appears in various traditional stories and legends. For example, the character of Marae-roa is featured in the Maori myth of Maui and the Fish, where he helps the legendary hero Maui catch a giant fish that becomes the North Island of New Zealand.
Marae Kawharu, a prominent Maori scholar and academic, was another notable figure who carried this name. Born in 1927, he dedicated his life to the study and preservation of Maori language, culture, and history, and was a respected authority on Maori traditions and customs.
Finally, Marae Nikora, a Maori artist and carver who lived from 1939 to 2011, was renowned for his intricate and beautiful works of traditional Maori wood carving. His carvings adorned many marae and cultural centers throughout New Zealand, showcasing the rich artistic heritage of the Maori people.
People
Marae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marae 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
Marae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 231 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marae 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 1,483,785 US residents.
Is Marae a common name?
We classify Marae as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 237 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marae most popular?
The single biggest year for Marae was 2005, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marae is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marae in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 295 people with the name Marae, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,826 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 Marae 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 Marae?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marae leans strongly female. 294 people counted with this name were female (99.0%), compared with 3 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 Marae?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marae is White at 55.9%. The next largest groups are Black (22.4%) and Hispanic (12.5%). 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 Marae most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Marae in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.9% (165 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 Marae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marae a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marae 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 Marae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marae 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 Marae 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 Americans are named Marae?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.