Maribeth
Derived from the combination of the names Mary and Elizabeth.
Name Census estimates that about 4,628 living Americans carry the first name Maribeth. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Maribeth today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maribeth births was 1957 (216 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maribeth. 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
4.6K
~ 1 in 74,061 Americans
Peak year
1957
216 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,292
Tracked since 1916
Census
Maribeth in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 6,016 people with the first name Maribeth, which placed it at #3,452 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
#3,452
National first-name rank
People counted
6.0K
6,016 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maribeth
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maribeth is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.7%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Maribeth 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 Maribeth at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.4% · 4,959
- Asian and Pacific Islander12.7% · 763
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 182
- Two or more races1.3% · 77
- Black or African American0.3% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 14
Popularity
Maribeth: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maribeth from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 1,666 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
Maribeth 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 Maribeth during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maribeths live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio recorded the most babies named Maribeth, while Tennessee, Kentucky, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 171 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maribeth
Maribeth is a combination of the names Mary and Elizabeth, both of which have their roots in Hebrew. The name Mary is derived from the ancient Hebrew name Miryam, which means "bitter" or "beloved." Elizabeth, on the other hand, comes from the Hebrew Elisheva, meaning "God is my oath."
The name Maribeth likely emerged in English-speaking countries, as a way to honor both the Virgin Mary and Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. The fusion of these two revered biblical names reflects the deep religious significance they hold in Christianity.
Although the exact origin of the name Maribeth is unclear, it is believed to have gained popularity in the 19th and early 20th centuries. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name is Maribeth Nelson, an American actress born in 1926 who appeared in several films and television shows in the 1950s and 1960s.
Another notable figure named Maribeth was Maribeth Sembach, an American actress and singer born in 1943. She is best known for her role as Maria in the Broadway production of "West Side Story" in the 1960s.
In the literary world, Maribeth Fischer is an American author and illustrator of children's books, born in 1951. She is known for her whimsical illustrations and stories that promote positive values.
Maribeth Cutak, born in 1958, is an American politician who served as a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from 2001 to 2009.
Maribeth Bezart, born in 1964, is a Canadian former professional tennis player who achieved a career-high ranking of No. 14 in the world in 1987.
While the name Maribeth has religious origins and historical significance, it has also been embraced by individuals from various backgrounds, reflecting its enduring appeal and versatility.
People
Maribeth + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maribeth 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
Maribeth: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maribeth?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,628 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maribeth 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 74,061 US residents.
Is Maribeth a common name?
We classify Maribeth as "Rare". It ranks above 96.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,080 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maribeth most popular?
The single biggest year for Maribeth was 1957, when 216 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maribeth is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Maribeth in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 6,016 people with the name Maribeth, or 1.99 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,452 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 Maribeth 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 Maribeth?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Maribeth appears almost entirely female. Of the 6,019 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Maribeth?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maribeth is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.7%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Maribeth most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Maribeth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.4% (4,959 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 Maribeth in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maribeth a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maribeth 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 Maribeth still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maribeth 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 Maribeth 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 Maribeth?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.