Marlies
A feminine name of Germanic origin, derived from 'Marie' and meaning "beloved woman".
Name Census estimates that about 144 living Americans carry the first name Marlies. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marlies today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marlies births was 1963 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marlies. 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
144
~ 1 in 2,380,238 Americans
Peak year
1963
12 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
1999 SSA rank
#13,784
Tracked since 1940
Census
Marlies in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 731 people with the first name Marlies, which placed it at #15,661 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
#15,661
National first-name rank
People counted
731
731 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
88.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marlies
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marlies is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.1%) and Black (2.1%). 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 Marlies 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 Marlies at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.2% · 645
- Hispanic or Latino7.1% · 52
- Black or African American2.1% · 15
- Two or more races2.1% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Popularity
Marlies: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marlies from the 1940s through to the 1990s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 70 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
Marlies 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 Marlies during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marlies' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Marlies
Marlies is a Dutch feminine given name derived from the Germanic name Maria. It originated as a diminutive or pet form of Maria, with the addition of the Dutch diminutive suffix "-lies." The name Maria has its roots in the ancient Hebrew name Miryam or Mariam, which was the original Hebrew form of the name Mary. Maria gained widespread popularity across Europe after the rise of Christianity and veneration of the Virgin Mary.
The name Marlies can be traced back to the Middle Ages in the Low Countries, which included present-day Netherlands, Belgium, and parts of northern France. It was a common name among Dutch-speaking communities during this period. The earliest known record of the name Marlies dates back to the 13th century, appearing in Dutch municipal records and church registers.
In the 16th century, during the Protestant Reformation, the name Marlies remained popular among Dutch Protestants who embraced the use of vernacular names. It was seen as a more secular alternative to the traditional Catholic name Maria, while still retaining its connection to the biblical figure of Mary.
One of the earliest notable historical figures with the name Marlies was Marlies van Houtryve, a 14th-century Flemish noblewoman and landowner from Ghent. Records show she was involved in various land disputes and legal battles during her lifetime.
Another notable Marlies was Marlies Dekkers (1958-2023), a Dutch lingerie designer and entrepreneur. She founded her eponymous lingerie brand in the 1990s and became known for her innovative and daring designs.
In the realm of literature, Marlies de Muynck (1820-1901) was a 19th-century Dutch novelist and poet. She wrote several novels and poetry collections that explored themes of love, nature, and Dutch culture.
In the world of sports, Marlies Oosterbeek (born 1951) is a former Dutch swimmer who won multiple medals at the Olympic Games and European Championships during the 1960s and 1970s.
Marlies Schippers (born 1981) is a contemporary Dutch singer and songwriter. She has released several albums and has been a prominent figure in the Dutch music scene since the early 2000s.
While the name Marlies has its roots in the Dutch language and culture, it has also been used in other European countries, particularly in Germany and Belgium. However, its usage remains most prevalent in the Netherlands, where it continues to be a popular name choice for baby girls.
People
Marlies + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marlies 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
Marlies: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marlies?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 144 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marlies 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 2,380,238 US residents.
Is Marlies a common name?
We classify Marlies as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 175 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marlies most popular?
The single biggest year for Marlies was 1963, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marlies is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marlies in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 731 people with the name Marlies, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,661 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 Marlies 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 Marlies?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marlies appears almost entirely female. Of the 727 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Marlies?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marlies is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.1%) and Black (2.1%). 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 Marlies most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Marlies in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.2% (645 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 Marlies in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marlies a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marlies 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 Marlies still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marlies 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 Marlies 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 Americans are named Marlies?
Want to know how many people have the name Marlies? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.