Marisel
A feminine name of Spanish origin, perhaps meaning "drop of the sea".
Name Census estimates that about 374 living Americans carry the first name Marisel. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marisel today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marisel births was 1973 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marisel. 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
374
~ 1 in 916,455 Americans
Peak year
1973
18 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
2009 SSA rank
#19,155
Tracked since 1956
Census
Marisel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,209 people with the first name Marisel, which placed it at #10,842 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
#10,842
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,209 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
93.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marisel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marisel is Hispanic at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.2%) and White (2.1%). 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 Marisel 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 Marisel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.5% · 1,130
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.2% · 39
- White2.1% · 25
- Two or more races0.6% · 7
- Black or African American0.5% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Popularity
Marisel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marisel from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 126 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marisel 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 Marisel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marisels live
Origin
Meaning and history of Marisel
The name Marisel has its roots in the Spanish language and is believed to have originated in the 16th century. It is a combination of the names Maria and Isabel, two of the most popular names in Spanish-speaking countries.
The name Maria is derived from the Hebrew name Miriam, which means "bitter" or "beloved." It has been a widely used name throughout history, particularly in Christian cultures, as it was the name of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.
Isabel, on the other hand, is the Spanish form of the Hebrew name Elisheba, which means "God is my oath." This name has been popular among royalty throughout history, with several queens and princesses bearing the name.
While there are no specific historical references to the name Marisel in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is believed to have gained popularity in the Spanish-speaking world during the Renaissance period, when the combination of names was a common practice.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Marisel can be found in the 17th century, when a Spanish noblewoman named Marisel de Guzmán y Ribera (1620-1688) gained prominence for her charitable works and patronage of the arts.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Marisel, including:
1. Marisel Verdú (born 1980), a Spanish actress known for her roles in films such as "Pan's Labyrinth" and "Y tu mamá también."
2. Marisel Quiroz (born 1976), a Venezuelan actress and television host.
3. Marisel Valdivieso (born 1978), a Chilean television presenter and model.
4. Marisel Manso (born 1970), a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter.
5. Marisel Aparicio (born 1962), a Mexican actress and singer.
The name Marisel has remained popular in Spanish-speaking countries, particularly in Latin America, where it is often seen as a beautiful and elegant name with a rich cultural heritage.
People
Marisel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marisel 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
Marisel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marisel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 374 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marisel 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 916,455 US residents.
Is Marisel a common name?
We classify Marisel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 414 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marisel most popular?
The single biggest year for Marisel was 1973, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marisel is about 47 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marisel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,209 people with the name Marisel, or 0.40 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,842 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 Marisel 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 Marisel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marisel appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,212 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Marisel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marisel is Hispanic at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.2%) and White (2.1%). 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 Marisel most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Marisel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (1,130 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 Marisel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marisel a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marisel 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 Marisel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marisel 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 Marisel 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 common is the name Marisel?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Marisel on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.