Marixa
A feminine name of Spanish origin potentially meaning "little bitter one".
Name Census estimates that about 331 living Americans carry the first name Marixa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marixa today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marixa births was 1999 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marixa. 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
331
~ 1 in 1,035,512 Americans
Peak year
1999
19 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2015 SSA rank
#18,186
Tracked since 1965
Popularity
Marixa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marixa from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 119 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
Marixa 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 Marixa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marixas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Marixa
The name Marixa has its origins in the ancient Iberian region, and is believed to have derived from a combination of the Basque words "mari" (meaning "lady" or "woman") and "uxo" (meaning "moon" or "lunar"). This suggests that the name may have originally been associated with deities or goddesses related to the moon or feminine power in pre-Roman cultures of the Iberian Peninsula.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Marixa can be traced back to the 6th century CE, where it appears in several inscriptions and artifacts found in the Basque Country region of present-day Spain and France. These early examples indicate that the name was in use among the Basque people during the medieval period.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Marixa was a Basque noblewoman and landowner who lived in the 11th century. Records from the time refer to her as "Marixa de Bizkaia," suggesting she held significant influence and property in the region of Biscay (Bizkaia).
In the 13th century, a Marixa de Navarra is mentioned in chronicles as a lady-in-waiting to the Queen of Navarre, indicating that the name had spread beyond the Basque region and was used among the nobility of neighboring kingdoms.
During the Renaissance period, a celebrated poet and playwright from the Basque Country, Marixa de Arizmendi (1522-1598), gained renown for her works in the Basque language and her contributions to the cultural revival of the region.
Another notable figure bearing the name was Marixa de Zubiaurre (1648-1721), a Basque merchant and explorer who is credited with establishing trade routes and settlements in the Americas, particularly in present-day Venezuela and Colombia.
While the name Marixa has its roots in the Basque culture and language, it has also been adopted and adapted in various forms in other regions, particularly in parts of Spain, Portugal, and Latin America, where it may have evolved into variations such as Marixa, Marisa, or Maritza.
People
Marixa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marixa 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
Marixa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marixa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 331 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marixa 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 1,035,512 US residents.
Is Marixa a common name?
We classify Marixa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 343 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marixa most popular?
The single biggest year for Marixa was 1999, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marixa is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Marixa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marixa 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.