Marelyn
A feminine name of English origin, a variation of Marilyn.
Name Census estimates that about 777 living Americans carry the first name Marelyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marelyn today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marelyn births was 2008 (45 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marelyn. 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
777
~ 1 in 441,125 Americans
Peak year
2008
45 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,720
Tracked since 1930
Popularity
Marelyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marelyn from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 273 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Marelyn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marelyn 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 Marelyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marelyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Marelyn, while Florida, New Jersey, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 42 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marelyn
The name Marelyn is a feminine given name of English origin, believed to have emerged in the 19th century. It is a combination of the names Mary and Lynn, both of which have deep roots in different cultures and traditions.
Mary is a name that traces its origins to the Hebrew name Miryam or Mariam, which means "bitter" or "beloved". It gained widespread popularity after being associated with the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ in Christianity. The name Lynn, on the other hand, is an English name derived from the Old English word "linn", meaning a waterfall or a pool.
While the name Marelyn itself does not appear to have any direct historical or religious references, its component names have been widely used throughout history. Mary has been a popular name among Christians for centuries, with numerous notable figures bearing the name, including Mary Magdalene, a follower of Jesus, and Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587), the famous Scottish monarch.
The earliest recorded use of the name Marelyn dates back to the late 19th century in England and the United States. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Marelyn Wynn, an American author and television personality born in 1924. She wrote several books, including "The House of Friendship" and "The Land of the Heart's Desire".
Another notable Marelyn was Marelyn Michaelson (1925-2012), a British actress and writer. She had a successful career in theatre, television, and film, and was known for her roles in productions such as "The Cherry Orchard" and "The Importance of Being Earnest".
Marelyn Eastlake (1933-2021) was an American politician and activist who served as the Mayor of Northridge, California, from 1989 to 1997. She was a prominent figure in the community and worked tirelessly to promote environmental conservation and sustainable development.
Marelyn Melnick (born 1948) is an American lawyer and author who has written extensively on legal and social issues. Her books include "The Melnick Bible" and "The Parenting Odyssey".
Marelyn Wynn Fowler (1927-2020) was an American actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout her career, including "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Designing Women".
People
Marelyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marelyn 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
Marelyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marelyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 777 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marelyn 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 441,125 US residents.
Is Marelyn a common name?
We classify Marelyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 815 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marelyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Marelyn was 2008, when 45 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marelyn is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Marelyn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marelyn 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.