Marlin
A masculine name meaning "little sea warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 13,550 living Americans carry the first name Marlin. It is a predominantly male name (92.8% of registrations). The average person named Marlin today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marlin births was 1935 (400 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marlin. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Marlin with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
14K
~ 1 in 25,296 Americans
Peak year
1935
400 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,940
Tracked since 1884
Census
Marlin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 15,481 people with the first name Marlin, which placed it at #1,860 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
#1,860
National first-name rank
People counted
15K
15,481 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
5.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marlin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marlin is White at 62.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.7%) and Black (14.1%). 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 Marlin 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 Marlin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.4% · 9,653
- Hispanic or Latino18.7% · 2,901
- Black or African American14.1% · 2,178
- Two or more races2.2% · 347
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 243
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 159
Gender
Gender distribution for Marlin
Marlin leans heavily male at 92.8% of total registrations, but 1,647 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Marlin as a male name
- Ranked #1,940 in 2024
- 81 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1935 (386 births)
Marlin as a female name
- Ranked #9,967 in 2024
- 10 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1991 (42 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Marlin on both sides of the split. Of the 15,488 people counted with this name, 12,352 were male (79.8%) and 3,136 were female (20.2%).
Popularity
Marlin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marlin from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 3,508 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marlin 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 Marlin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marlins live
The SSA's state-level files cover 39 states and territories. Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Marlin, while New Mexico, New Jersey, Montana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 416 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marlin
The name Marlin has its roots in the French language, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French word "merlin," which means "little falcon" or "little hawk." The name may have originated as a nickname for someone with keen eyesight or a swift, bird-like demeanor.
In the 12th century, the name gained popularity through the famous Arthurian legend of Merlin, the powerful wizard and mentor to King Arthur. This legendary figure, often depicted as a wise and mystical figure, likely contributed to the name's enduring appeal and association with wisdom and magic.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Marlin can be found in the 13th century, when a French nobleman named Marlin de Beauvais was mentioned in historical records. In the 14th century, Marlin Ficin, an Italian philosopher and translator, was a renowned figure during the Renaissance period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Marlin. Marlin Fitzwater (1942-), an American journalist and former White House Press Secretary under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, is a prominent example. Marlin Perkins (1905-1986), an American zoologist and host of the popular television series "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom," was another well-known figure.
In literature, Marlin Brando (1924-2004), the legendary American actor and cultural icon, was widely known for his iconic performances in films such as "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "The Godfather." Marlin Munitz (1923-2003), an American philosopher and university administrator, served as the president of the University of Houston and the University of California system.
Lastly, Marlin Gusman (1934-1986), a Cuban-American boxer and Olympic gold medalist, made his mark in the world of sports by winning the heavyweight boxing championship at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.
People
Marlin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marlin 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
Marlin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marlin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 13,550 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marlin 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 25,296 US residents.
Is Marlin a common name?
We classify Marlin as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 22,725 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marlin most popular?
The single biggest year for Marlin was 1935, when 400 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marlin is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marlin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 15,481 people with the name Marlin, or 5.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,860 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 Marlin 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 Marlin?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Marlin on both sides of the split. Of the 15,488 people counted with this name, 12,352 were male (79.8%) and 3,136 were female (20.2%). 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 Marlin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marlin is White at 62.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.7%) and Black (14.1%). 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 Marlin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Marlin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.4% (9,653 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 Marlin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marlin a male name?
Yes, 92.8% of people registered as Marlin in the SSA data are male. 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 Marlin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marlin 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 Marlin 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 Marlin?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Marlin at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.