Marlean
A feminine name of uncertain meaning, possibly deriving from French.
Name Census estimates that about 81 living Americans carry the first name Marlean. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marlean today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marlean births was 1940 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marlean. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Marlean is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Marleans were born before 1969.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Marlean. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
81
~ 1 in 4,231,535 Americans
Peak year
1940
12 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
1979 SSA rank
#9,696
Tracked since 1923
Census
Marlean in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 165 people with the first name Marlean, which placed it at #43,061 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
#43,061
National first-name rank
People counted
165
165 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
47.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marlean
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marlean is White at 47.3%. The next largest groups are Black (37.0%) and Hispanic (9.7%). 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 Marlean 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 Marlean at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.3% · 78
- Black or African American37.0% · 61
- Hispanic or Latino9.7% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.0% · 5
- Two or more races3.0% · 5
Popularity
Marlean: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marlean from the 1920s through to the 1970s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 34 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1940s peak, Marlean remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marlean 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 Marlean 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 Marlean
The name Marlean has its roots in the French language, originating as a combination of the names Marie and Léa. The name Marie, of course, has its origins in the ancient Hebrew name Miriam, which means "beloved" or "wished-for child." Léa, on the other hand, is derived from the Greek word "leios," meaning "smooth" or "polished."
In the Middle Ages, the name Marlean first appeared in France, particularly in the regions of Normandy and Brittany. It was initially a name given to girls born into noble families, as it carried a sense of refinement and elegance. The earliest recorded instance of the name dates back to the 12th century, when a noblewoman named Marlean de Montfort was mentioned in a historical document from the court of King Philip II of France.
Throughout the centuries, the name Marlean has been associated with various notable figures. In the 15th century, Marlean de Villeneuve was a renowned French poet and author, whose works explored themes of love, nature, and spirituality. In the 17th century, Marlean de Rohan was a prominent French aristocrat and military leader, who played a significant role in the Fronde, a series of civil wars that challenged the authority of the French monarchy.
Moving into the 19th century, Marlean Lajeunesse was a Canadian author and journalist, known for her contributions to the literary and cultural movements of her time. She was born in 1832 and passed away in 1912. In the 20th century, Marlean Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer, celebrated for her glamorous on-screen persona and her unique vocal style. She was born in 1901 and died in 1992.
One of the most notable figures with the name Marlean is Marlean Harris, an American actress and activist. Born in 1957, she is best known for her role in the critically acclaimed film "Daughters of the Dust," which explored the Gullah culture and heritage. Her powerful performances and advocacy for diverse representation in the entertainment industry have earned her numerous accolades and a lasting legacy.
People
Marlean + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marlean 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
Marlean: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marlean?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 81 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marlean 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 4,231,535 US residents.
Is Marlean a common name?
We classify Marlean as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 142 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marlean most popular?
The single biggest year for Marlean was 1940, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marlean is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marlean in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 165 people with the name Marlean, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,061 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 Marlean 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 Marlean?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marlean appears almost entirely female. Of the 165 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 Marlean?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marlean is White at 47.3%. The next largest groups are Black (37.0%) and Hispanic (9.7%). 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 Marlean most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Marlean in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.3% (78 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 Marlean in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marlean a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marlean 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 Marlean still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marlean 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 Marlean 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 common is the name Marlean?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.