Maralee
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a combination of "Marie" and "Lee".
Name Census estimates that about 493 living Americans carry the first name Maralee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Maralee today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maralee births was 1943 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maralee. 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
493
~ 1 in 695,242 Americans
Peak year
1943
28 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
2022 SSA rank
#13,078
Tracked since 1917
Census
Maralee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 728 people with the first name Maralee, which placed it at #15,712 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
#15,712
National first-name rank
People counted
728
728 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
89.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maralee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maralee is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Maralee 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 Maralee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 654
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 46
- Two or more races1.9% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 4
- Black or African American0.4% · 3
Popularity
Maralee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maralee from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 190 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
Maralee 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 Maralee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maralees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Illinois, Missouri recorded the most babies named Maralee, while New York, Missouri, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maralee
The name Maralee has its origins in the French language, deriving from the combination of the French words "Marie" and "lee." The name Marie is a variant of the Hebrew name Miriam, which means "beloved" or "wished-for child." The suffix "lee" likely stems from the Old French word "lei," meaning "law" or "allegiance."
Maralee first emerged as a given name during the medieval period in France, though its precise origins and earliest recorded uses are obscure. It is believed to have been a name adopted by French nobility and aristocracy, perhaps as a way to honor the Virgin Mary while also conveying a sense of loyalty or allegiance.
While there are no definitive historical references to the name Maralee in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is possible that the name was influenced by the veneration of the Virgin Mary in medieval Catholic tradition. The name may have been intended to evoke a connection to the mother of Jesus while also conveying a sense of devotion or dedication.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Maralee was Maralee de Montfort, a French noblewoman born in the late 12th century. She was the daughter of Simon de Montfort, a prominent military leader during the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars in southern France.
Another notable figure with the name Maralee was Maralee de Villiers, a French poet and writer who lived in the 16th century. She was known for her lyrical works and her involvement in the literary circles of Renaissance France.
In the 17th century, Maralee de la Marche was a French courtier and lady-in-waiting to Queen Marie de' Medici. She played a role in the political intrigues and power struggles of the French court during the reign of King Louis XIII.
During the 18th century, Maralee Delacroix was a French artist and painter who was part of the Rococo movement. Her works often depicted scenes of courtly life and romance, and she was renowned for her skill in capturing the delicate beauty of her subjects.
In the 19th century, Maralee Durand was a French author and feminist activist. She wrote extensively on the rights of women and advocated for greater educational and professional opportunities for women in France.
While the name Maralee has its roots in French history, it has been adopted and used in various cultures and regions over time, reflecting the global reach and influence of French culture and language.
People
Maralee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maralee 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
Maralee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maralee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 493 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maralee 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 695,242 US residents.
Is Maralee a common name?
We classify Maralee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 889 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maralee most popular?
The single biggest year for Maralee was 1943, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maralee is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Maralee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 728 people with the name Maralee, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,712 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 Maralee 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 Maralee?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Maralee appears almost entirely female. Of the 724 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Maralee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maralee is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Maralee most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Maralee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (654 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 Maralee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maralee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maralee 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 Maralee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maralee 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 Maralee 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 share the name Maralee?
You can see how many Americans are named Maralee on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.