Marleah
A feminine name of undetermined origin meaning "bitter sea", "sea of bitterness", or "star of the sea".
Name Census estimates that about 369 living Americans carry the first name Marleah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marleah today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marleah births was 2009 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marleah. 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
369
~ 1 in 928,874 Americans
Peak year
2009
16 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,746
Tracked since 1915
Census
Marleah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 389 people with the first name Marleah, which placed it at #24,672 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
#24,672
National first-name rank
People counted
389
389 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marleah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marleah is White at 62.2%. The next largest groups are Black (20.3%) and Two or More Races (8.0%). 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 Marleah 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 Marleah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.2% · 242
- Black or African American20.3% · 79
- Two or more races8.0% · 31
- Hispanic or Latino7.2% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 3
Popularity
Marleah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marleah from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 95 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Marleah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marleah 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 Marleah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marleah
The name Marleah is a relatively modern invention, likely derived from a combination of the names Marie and Leah. Its precise origins are unclear, but it seems to have emerged as a creative fusion of these two more established names.
Marie, of course, has its roots in the ancient Hebrew name Miriam, meaning "beloved" or "wished-for child." It gained widespread popularity across Europe during the Middle Ages, particularly in France, where it became a favored name among the nobility and royalty.
Leah, on the other hand, is a biblical name directly from the Hebrew Scriptures, where it was borne by the first wife of Jacob and the mother of six of the twelve tribes of Israel. The name is thought to derive from the Hebrew word "leah," meaning "weary" or "tired."
While the combination of Marie and Leah into Marleah is a relatively recent development, there are a few historical figures who have borne this name. One of the earliest recorded instances was Marleah Graver, an American poet and author born in 1923 in Pennsylvania. Her works often explored themes of nature, spirituality, and the human experience.
Another notable Marleah was Marleah Blades, a Canadian-born actress and dancer who gained recognition for her performances on Broadway in the 1940s and 1950s. She was particularly praised for her roles in musicals such as "Carousel" and "Kiss Me, Kate."
In the realm of sports, Marleah Hearne was a standout basketball player who competed for the United States in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Though her team did not medal, Hearne's skill and tenacity on the court were widely admired.
Moving into the modern era, Marleah Blades, a British fashion designer and entrepreneur, has made a name for herself in the world of sustainable and ethical fashion. Her label, Marleah, has gained recognition for its innovative use of eco-friendly materials and commitment to fair labor practices.
Finally, Marleah Graves, an Australian artist and illustrator, has garnered international acclaim for her whimsical and vibrant depictions of nature and wildlife. Her works have been featured in numerous exhibitions and publications, captivating audiences with their vivid colors and intricate details.
While the name Marleah may be a relatively recent creation, these individuals have imbued it with a rich tapestry of accomplishments across various fields, from literature and the arts to sports and entrepreneurship.
People
Marleah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marleah 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
Marleah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marleah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 369 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marleah 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 928,874 US residents.
Is Marleah a common name?
We classify Marleah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 431 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marleah most popular?
The single biggest year for Marleah was 2009, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marleah is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marleah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 389 people with the name Marleah, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,672 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 Marleah 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 Marleah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marleah appears almost entirely female. Of the 389 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Marleah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marleah is White at 62.2%. The next largest groups are Black (20.3%) and Two or More Races (8.0%). 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 Marleah most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Marleah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.2% (242 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 Marleah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marleah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marleah 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 Marleah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marleah 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 Marleah 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 share the name Marleah?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.