Marlina
Feminine name derived from the Italian Santa Maria Maddalena.
Name Census estimates that about 1,078 living Americans carry the first name Marlina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marlina today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marlina births was 1978 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marlina. 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
1.1K
~ 1 in 317,954 Americans
Peak year
1978
41 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2023 SSA rank
#14,531
Tracked since 1947
Popularity
Marlina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marlina from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 239 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marlina 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 Marlina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marlinas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Marlina, while Florida, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 63 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marlina
The name Marlina has its origins in the ancient Germanic languages, believed to have derived from the combination of the elements "mari" meaning "sea" and "lind" meaning "tender" or "soft." The earliest documented usage of this name dates back to the 8th century in regions of present-day Germany and the Netherlands.
During the Middle Ages, variations of the name, such as Marlene and Marleen, gained popularity across central and northern Europe, particularly among the nobility and upper classes. One notable historical figure was Marlina von Habsburg, a 12th-century Countess of Tyrol, renowned for her patronage of the arts and architecture.
As the name spread across various cultures, it underwent several transformations in spelling and pronunciation. In Italy, for instance, the name evolved into Marlena, while in Spain, it became Marielena. These regional variations often reflected local linguistic influences and cultural preferences.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Marlina can be found in the Codex Calixtinus, a 12th-century manuscript detailing the routes and traditions of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain. The text references a woman named Marlina who established a hospice for pilgrims along the famous route.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Marlina. One such individual was Marlina della Scala, a 14th-century Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts, who played a significant role in the cultural renaissance of Verona. Another was Marlina von Württemberg, a 16th-century German princess and influential figure in the Protestant Reformation.
In the realm of literature, the name Marlina gained recognition through the works of English playwright William Shakespeare. In his play "The Winter's Tale," one of the principal characters is named Marlina, a young woman of noble birth.
Other notable historical figures named Marlina include Marlina de Sousa, a 17th-century Portuguese explorer and navigator who played a crucial role in mapping the coastlines of Brazil and the Caribbean, and Marlina Pavlova, a 19th-century Russian ballerina celebrated for her grace and artistry on stage.
People
Marlina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marlina 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
Marlina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marlina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,078 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marlina 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 317,954 US residents.
Is Marlina a common name?
We classify Marlina as "Rare". It ranks above 90.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,165 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marlina most popular?
The single biggest year for Marlina was 1978, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marlina is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Marlina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marlina 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.
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.