Marivel
A feminine Spanish name combining María and diminutive of Milagros or Maravilla.
Name Census estimates that about 1,953 living Americans carry the first name Marivel. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marivel today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marivel births was 1981 (87 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marivel. 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
2.0K
~ 1 in 175,501 Americans
Peak year
1981
87 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,762
Tracked since 1958
Popularity
Marivel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marivel from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 634 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
Marivel 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 Marivel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marivels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Marivel, while Washington, Arizona, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 242 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marivel
Marivel is a feminine given name of Spanish origin, derived from the combination of the names María and Velencia. The name María has its roots in the Hebrew name Miryām, which means "beloved" or "wished-for child." The second part, Velencia, is a variant of the name Valencia, which is derived from the Latin word "valentia," meaning "strength" or "courage."
The earliest recorded use of the name Marivel can be traced back to the 16th century in Spain. During this time, it was a popular name among the Spanish nobility and was often given to daughters born into aristocratic families. The name's blend of the revered name María and the connotation of strength from Velencia made it a desirable choice for parents seeking to instill virtues in their daughters.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Marivel was Marivel de Borja y Aragón, a Spanish noblewoman born in the late 16th century. She was a member of the influential House of Borgia and was known for her patronage of the arts and her commitment to charitable causes.
In the 18th century, the name Marivel gained popularity in Latin American countries that were under Spanish colonial rule. Notable figures from this period include Marivel de Guzmán y Mendoza, a Mexican landowner and philanthropist born in 1741, who was renowned for her support of educational initiatives and her advocacy for the rights of indigenous communities.
As the name spread across the Spanish-speaking world, it also found its way into literature and the arts. One notable example is Marivel, the protagonist of a novel by the Venezuelan writer Rómulo Gallegos, published in 1935. The novel explores themes of love, social inequality, and the struggles of the rural working class in Venezuela.
Other notable historical figures with the name Marivel include Marivel Zamora (1920-2006), a Cuban singer and actress who gained fame in the mid-20th century for her performances in Latin American cinema and theater productions, and Marivel Vargaslugo (1932-2018), a Puerto Rican painter and sculptor known for her vibrant, abstract works that celebrated Caribbean culture and identity.
Throughout its history, the name Marivel has maintained a strong connection to its Spanish and Latin American roots, embodying the blend of reverence, strength, and cultural richness that its origins represent.
People
Marivel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marivel 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
Marivel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marivel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,953 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marivel 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 175,501 US residents.
Is Marivel a common name?
We classify Marivel as "Rare". It ranks above 93.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,121 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marivel most popular?
The single biggest year for Marivel was 1981, when 87 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marivel is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Marivel a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marivel 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.