Marisella
A feminine Spanish name derived from María, meaning "star of the sea".
Name Census estimates that about 456 living Americans carry the first name Marisella. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marisella today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marisella births was 1985 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marisella. 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
456
~ 1 in 751,654 Americans
Peak year
1985
17 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,733
Tracked since 1951
Census
Marisella in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 613 people with the first name Marisella, which placed it at #17,806 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
#17,806
National first-name rank
People counted
613
613 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
92.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marisella
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marisella is Hispanic at 92.5%. The next largest groups are White (4.9%) and Black (1.0%). 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 Marisella 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 Marisella at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino92.5% · 567
- White4.9% · 30
- Black or African American1.0% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 5
- Two or more races0.5% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 2
Popularity
Marisella: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marisella from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 112 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marisella 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 Marisella during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marisellas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, California, Arizona recorded the most babies named Marisella, while Arizona, California, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marisella
The name Marisella is a variation of the Spanish name Maria, which has its roots in the Hebrew name Miryam. Miryam is derived from the ancient Egyptian word "mer," meaning "beloved," and the Hebrew word "mry," meaning "bitter" or "beloved." The name Maria was popularized by the mother of Jesus Christ in the Bible and became widespread throughout the Christian world.
The name Marisella is believed to have originated in Spain during the Middle Ages, when it was common to create diminutive forms of names by adding suffixes like "-ella" or "-ita." This practice was particularly prevalent in regions such as Andalusia and Castile. The suffix "-ella" was often used to convey affection or endearment.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Marisella can be found in the 13th-century Spanish romance "El Libro de Buen Amor" by Juan Ruiz, Archipreste de Hita. In this work, Marisella is mentioned as the name of a character, suggesting that the name was in use during that period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Marisella. One such figure was Marisella Federici (1578-1652), an Italian painter and engraver from the Baroque period, known for her religious works and portraits.
Another notable Marisella was Marisella Salvat (1889-1970), a Spanish actress and theater director who played a significant role in the development of modern Spanish theater in the early 20th century.
In the field of literature, Marisella Mussini (1922-2013) was an Italian writer and journalist who wrote several novels and short stories, including "La sera a Bagheria" (1988), which won the prestigious Campiello Prize.
Marisella Federici (1567-1592), an Italian noblewoman and art patron, was known for her support of artists and her role in the cultural Renaissance of Rome during the late 16th century.
Marisella Lochbaum (1921-2007) was a German-American artist and sculptor who worked primarily with wood and metal, and her works are featured in numerous public and private collections throughout the United States.
It's important to note that these historical examples are not an exhaustive list, and there may be other notable individuals with the name Marisella who have left their mark on various fields and cultures.
People
Marisella + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marisella 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
Marisella: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marisella?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 456 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marisella 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 751,654 US residents.
Is Marisella a common name?
We classify Marisella as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 481 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marisella most popular?
The single biggest year for Marisella was 1985, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marisella is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marisella in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 613 people with the name Marisella, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,806 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 Marisella 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 Marisella?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marisella appears almost entirely female. Of the 611 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Marisella?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marisella is Hispanic at 92.5%. The next largest groups are White (4.9%) and Black (1.0%). 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 Marisella most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Marisella in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (567 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 Marisella in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marisella a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marisella 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 Marisella still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marisella 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 Marisella 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 are called Marisella?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.