Mariaelena
Feminine name of Hebrew origin consisting of María and Elena/Helena meaning "beloved woman shining with light".
Name Census estimates that about 1,831 living Americans carry the first name Mariaelena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mariaelena today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mariaelena births was 1998 (58 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mariaelena. 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
1.8K
~ 1 in 187,195 Americans
Peak year
1998
58 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,305
Tracked since 1935
Popularity
Mariaelena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mariaelena from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 426 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mariaelena 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 Mariaelena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mariaelenas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Mariaelena, while Illinois, Arizona, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 187 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mariaelena
Mariaelena is a feminine given name that combines the names Maria and Elena. The name Maria finds its origins in the Hebrew name Miryam, which is derived from the ancient Egyptian word "mr", meaning "beloved". Elena, on the other hand, has its roots in the Greek word "helene", meaning "bright" or "shining".
The name Maria has a long and rich history, dating back to the New Testament of the Bible, where it refers to the mother of Jesus Christ. The veneration of the Virgin Mary played a significant role in the widespread use of this name throughout the Christian world, particularly in Catholic and Orthodox traditions.
Elena, similarly, has a storied past. In Greek mythology, Helen of Troy was a figure of great beauty and power, whose story is recounted in Homer's Iliad. The name was popular among the ancient Greeks and later adopted by the Romans as well.
The combination of Maria and Elena into the single name Mariaelena is believed to have originated in Italy during the Middle Ages. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the 13th-century writings of the renowned Italian poet, Dante Alighieri.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Mariaelena. One such individual was Mariaelena de la Cueva y de la Cerda (1610-1665), a Spanish noblewoman and courtier during the reign of King Philip IV. Another was Mariaelena Gozzi (1660-1729), an Italian poet and playwright who was a prominent figure in the literary circles of Venice.
In the 19th century, Mariaelena Massari (1809-1892) was an Italian operatic soprano who performed in numerous operas by composers such as Verdi and Donizetti. Mariaelena Maseras (1853-1926), a Spanish painter and engraver, was also a notable figure in the arts during this period.
More recently, Mariaelena García (1924-2019) was a Cuban activist and revolutionary who played a significant role in the Cuban Revolution alongside Fidel Castro and Che Guevara.
While the name Mariaelena has its roots in the Western world, it has gained popularity in various cultures and regions, reflecting the rich diversity of names and their adaptations across different linguistic and cultural contexts.
People
Mariaelena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mariaelena 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
Mariaelena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mariaelena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,831 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mariaelena 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 187,195 US residents.
Is Mariaelena a common name?
We classify Mariaelena as "Rare". It ranks above 93.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,009 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mariaelena most popular?
The single biggest year for Mariaelena was 1998, when 58 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mariaelena is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Mariaelena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mariaelena 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.