Marlette
French feminine diminutive of Marie; little Mary or little bitter.
Name Census estimates that about 223 living Americans carry the first name Marlette. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marlette today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marlette births was 1967 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marlette. 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
223
~ 1 in 1,537,015 Americans
Peak year
1967
17 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
2021 SSA rank
#14,627
Tracked since 1930
Census
Marlette in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 349 people with the first name Marlette, which placed it at #26,600 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
#26,600
National first-name rank
People counted
349
349 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
35.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marlette
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marlette is White at 35.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (29.8%) and Black (25.8%). 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 Marlette 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 Marlette at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White35.8% · 125
- Hispanic or Latino29.8% · 104
- Black or African American25.8% · 90
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.0% · 21
- Two or more races2.0% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2
Popularity
Marlette: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marlette from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 82 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marlette 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 Marlette 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 Marlette
The name Marlette finds its roots in the French language and culture, emerging during the Middle Ages. It is a diminutive form of the name Marle, which itself is derived from the French name Marie, the French variant of the biblical name Mary. The suffix "-ette" in Marlette carries a sense of endearment or affection, suggesting a fondness for the name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Marlette can be traced back to the 13th century, where it appeared in various French historical records and documents. It is believed that the name gained popularity among the French nobility and aristocracy during this period, reflecting the influence of the cult of the Virgin Mary in medieval Christian culture.
While the name Marlette does not appear explicitly in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its connection to the name Mary ties it to the biblical figure of the same name, the mother of Jesus Christ in Christian tradition. This association likely contributed to its acceptance and use within Christian communities across Europe.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Marlette. One of the earliest recorded was Marlette de Montpellier (1235-1301), a French noblewoman and poet known for her contributions to the literature of the Occitan language during the latter part of the 13th century.
Another prominent figure was Marlette de Valois (1436-1498), a French princess and daughter of King Charles VII. She played a significant role in the political affairs of her time and was instrumental in negotiating the marriage of her niece, Anne of Brittany, to King Charles VIII of France.
In the 17th century, Marlette Féret (1623-1688) was a French playwright and actress renowned for her comedic works and performances in the theaters of Paris. Her plays were popular among the French aristocracy and helped shape the development of French theater during the reign of Louis XIV.
The 19th century saw the birth of Marlette Griffing (1836-1911), an American educator and suffragist who advocated for women's rights and education. She founded several schools for girls and played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement in the United States.
More recently, Marlette Hartley (born 1943) is an American actress best known for her roles in television series such as "The Incredible Hulk" and "Code R." She has had a successful acting career spanning several decades and has been recognized with numerous awards and nominations for her performances.
People
Marlette + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marlette 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
Marlette: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marlette?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 223 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marlette 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 1,537,015 US residents.
Is Marlette a common name?
We classify Marlette as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 272 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marlette most popular?
The single biggest year for Marlette was 1967, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marlette is about 47 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marlette in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 349 people with the name Marlette, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,600 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 Marlette 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 Marlette?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marlette appears almost entirely female. Of the 350 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Marlette?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marlette is White at 35.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (29.8%) and Black (25.8%). 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 Marlette most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Marlette in the 2020 Census, accounting for 35.8% (125 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 Marlette in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marlette a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marlette 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 Marlette still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marlette 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 Marlette 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 Marlette?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.