Marit
A feminine name of Scandinavian origin meaning "drop of the sea".
Name Census estimates that about 732 living Americans carry the first name Marit. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marit today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marit births was 2017 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marit. 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
732
~ 1 in 468,244 Americans
Peak year
2017
21 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,966
Tracked since 1947
Census
Marit in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 949 people with the first name Marit, which placed it at #12,909 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
#12,909
National first-name rank
People counted
949
949 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
93.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marit
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marit is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Marit 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 Marit at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 884
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 31
- Two or more races1.7% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 10
- Black or African American0.7% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Marit: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marit from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 151 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Marit remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marit 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 Marit during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marits live
Origin
Meaning and history of Marit
The name Marit is of Scandinavian origin, derived from the Old Norse name Marít. It is a feminine form of the male name Márir, which means "the sea" or "the ocean." The name Marit has its roots in the ancient Norse mythology and culture, where the sea played a significant role in the lives of the Vikings and other Scandinavian people.
In Old Norse literature, Marit was sometimes used as a byname or a nickname for women associated with the sea or maritime activities. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, where it appears as a byname for a female character.
During the Middle Ages, the name Marit gained popularity in Scandinavia, particularly in Norway and Iceland. It was often bestowed upon girls born in coastal regions or to families with strong ties to the sea. One of the notable historical figures with this name was Marit Arnesdatter (c. 1300-1370), a Norwegian noblewoman and landowner who played a significant role in the political affairs of her time.
In the 16th century, the name Marit appeared in several historical records and documents from various Scandinavian countries. One example is Marit Andersdotter (c. 1550-1620), a Swedish woman who gained notoriety for her involvement in a witch trial in the late 16th century.
The name Marit continued to be popular in Scandinavia throughout the centuries. In the 19th century, Marit Michelsen (1845-1925) was a renowned Norwegian painter and art teacher who helped establish the Norwegian art scene. Another notable figure was Marit Petersen (1904-1975), a Norwegian politician and feminist who served as the Minister of Social Affairs in the 1950s.
During the 20th century, the name Marit gained international recognition thanks to Marit Bjørgen (born 1980), a highly successful Norwegian cross-country skier who won numerous Olympic and World Championship medals, cementing her place as one of the greatest winter athletes of all time.
While the name Marit has its roots in Scandinavia, it has been adopted and used in various parts of the world, particularly in countries with Nordic cultural influences or connections. The name's association with the sea and maritime heritage has made it a popular choice for parents seeking a name with a strong connection to nature and the elements.
People
Marit + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marit 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
Marit: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marit?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 732 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marit 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 468,244 US residents.
Is Marit a common name?
We classify Marit as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 786 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marit most popular?
The single biggest year for Marit was 2017, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marit 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 Marit in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 949 people with the name Marit, or 0.31 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,909 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 Marit 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 Marit?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marit appears almost entirely female. Of the 946 people counted with this name, 99.2% 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 Marit?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marit is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Marit most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Marit in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (884 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 Marit in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marit a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marit 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 Marit still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marit 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 Marit 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 named Marit?
Find out how many people share the name Marit on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.