Marbella
A Spanish name referring to a scenic seaside town in Andalusia.
Name Census estimates that about 2,262 living Americans carry the first name Marbella. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marbella today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marbella births was 2024 (103 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marbella. 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
2.3K
~ 1 in 151,527 Americans
Peak year
2024
103 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,927
Tracked since 1971
Popularity
Marbella: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marbella from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 695 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Marbella remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marbella 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 Marbella during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marbellas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. California, Texas, Arizona recorded the most babies named Marbella, while Washington, Georgia, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 154 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marbella
The name Marbella is a Spanish toponym, derived from the city of the same name located in the province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. The city's name is believed to have its roots in the Latin phrase "mare bella," meaning "beautiful sea," reflecting its picturesque location on the Mediterranean coast.
The earliest recorded use of the name Marbella dates back to the Roman era, when the city was known as "Salduba." During the 7th century, the Moors renamed the settlement "Marbil-la," which eventually evolved into the modern spelling of Marbella. This name change reflects the region's rich cultural heritage and the influence of the Moorish conquest of the Iberian Peninsula.
While Marbella did not appear in any major historical texts or religious scriptures, it has been a popular name in Spanish-speaking countries, particularly in Spain and Latin America. One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Marbella was Marbella de Solís, a Spanish noblewoman who lived in the 15th century and was known for her charitable works.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Marbella. One such figure was Marbella Fernández de Córdoba (1555-1629), a Spanish painter and poet who gained recognition for her artistic talents during the Spanish Golden Age. Another Marbella of note was Marbella Gracia (1908-1993), a Mexican actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and television shows during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema.
Marbella García Iglesias (1920-2015) was a prominent Spanish writer and activist who fought for women's rights and the preservation of Galician culture. In the field of sports, Marbella Ibarra (born 1982) is a Mexican volleyball player who has represented her country in numerous international competitions.
Lastly, Marbella Muñoz (born 1988) is a Colombian model and television presenter, known for her work in various Latin American television shows and her advocacy for animal rights.
People
Marbella + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marbella 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
Marbella: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marbella?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,262 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marbella 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 151,527 US residents.
Is Marbella a common name?
We classify Marbella as "Rare". It ranks above 94.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,304 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marbella most popular?
The single biggest year for Marbella was 2024, when 103 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marbella is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Marbella a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marbella 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.
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.