Maribel
A feminine Spanish name meaning "a beautiful woman with star-like radiance".
Name Census estimates that about 23,012 living Americans carry the first name Maribel. It is a predominantly female name (99.3% of registrations). The average person named Maribel today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maribel births was 1980 (777 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maribel. 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.
Key insights
- • Although Maribel is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 185 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
23K
~ 1 in 14,895 Americans
Peak year
1980
777 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
1995 SSA rank
#1,706
Tracked since 1906
Gender
Gender distribution for Maribel
Out of the 24,927 babies given the name Maribel since 1880, 99.3% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Maribel as a male name
- Ranked #8,481 in 1995
- 6 male births in 1995
- Peak: 1984 (16 births)
Maribel as a female name
- Ranked #1,706 in 2024
- 119 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1980 (768 births)
Popularity
Maribel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maribel from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 5,633 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maribel 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 Maribel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maribels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 33 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Maribel, while Minnesota, Hawaii, Utah recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 669 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maribel
The name Maribel has its origins in the Spanish language. It is a combination of the names Maria and Isabel, both of which have roots in the Hebrew language.
Maria is derived from the Hebrew name Miryam, which is believed to have meant "beloved" or "wished-for child". The name Maria has been popular among Christians since the Middle Ages, as it was the name of the mother of Jesus Christ in the New Testament of the Bible.
Isabel, on the other hand, is the Spanish form of the Hebrew name Elisheva, which means "God is my oath". This name was borne by the wife of Aaron, the brother of Moses, in the Old Testament.
The earliest recorded use of the name Maribel dates back to the late 19th century in Spain. It gained popularity in the early 20th century and was especially common among Spanish-speaking communities in Latin America and the United States.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Maribel was Maribel Verd├║ (1908-1986), a Spanish actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and stage productions during the mid-20th century.
Another famous Maribel was Maribel Guardia (born 1959), a Mexican actress, singer, and former beauty queen who has had a successful career in television, film, and music for over four decades.
In the literary world, Maribel Romero (1931-2022) was a renowned Mexican author and poet who wrote extensively about themes of social justice, feminism, and indigenous culture.
In the realm of sports, Maribel Cabrera (born 1974) is a retired Spanish tennis player who reached a career-high ranking of No. 16 in the world and won two singles titles on the WTA Tour.
Lastly, Maribel Verdú (born 1970) is a Spanish actress who has appeared in numerous films and television shows, both in Spain and internationally. She is best known for her roles in films such as "Y tu mamá también" (2001) and "Pan's Labyrinth" (2006).
Notable bearers
Famous people named Maribel
People
Maribel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maribel 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
Maribel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maribel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 23,012 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maribel 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 14,895 US residents.
Is Maribel a common name?
We classify Maribel as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 24,927 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maribel most popular?
The single biggest year for Maribel was 1980, when 777 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maribel is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Maribel a female name?
Yes, 99.3% of people registered as Maribel 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.