Marnette
A feminine name derived from the French word "marne", meaning "marl" or "clayey soil".
Name Census estimates that about 108 living Americans carry the first name Marnette. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marnette today is around 68 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marnette births was 1938 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marnette. 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 Marnette is about 68 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Marnettes were born before 1968.
People living today
108
~ 1 in 3,173,651 Americans
Peak year
1938
12 babies that year
Average age
68
years old
1974 SSA rank
#9,650
Tracked since 1922
Popularity
Marnette: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marnette from the 1920s through to the 1970s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 48 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1950s peak, Marnette remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marnette 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 Marnette 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 Marnette
The name Marnette has its roots in the French language, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to be a feminized version of the masculine name Marnet, which itself is a derivative of the Old French word "marne," meaning marl or a crumbly mixture of clay and limestone.
During the medieval period, the name was predominantly found in northern France, particularly in the regions of Normandy and Picardy. It was often associated with families or individuals involved in the mining or quarrying of marl, which was an important material used in construction and agriculture.
While there are no known direct references to the name Marnette in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is possible that the name was used as a descriptive term or surname before becoming a given name in its own right.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Marnette can be traced back to the 13th century in various historical documents and records from northern France. One of the earliest known individuals bearing this name was Marnette de Boulogne, a noblewoman from the city of Boulogne-sur-Mer, who lived in the late 12th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Marnette, including:
1. Marnette de Montmorency (1292-1357), a French noblewoman and heiress from the prestigious Montmorency family.
2. Marnette de Châtillon (1325-1378), a French aristocrat and landowner from the Châtillon-sur-Seine region.
3. Marnette de Roye (1410-1472), a French courtier and lady-in-waiting to Queen Marie of Anjou during the reign of King Charles VII.
4. Marnette du Plessis (1548-1621), a French poet and literary figure during the Renaissance period.
5. Marnette de Saint-Évremond (1614-1703), a French author, soldier, and courtier known for her witty writings and participation in the literary salons of Paris.
While the name Marnette may have fallen out of widespread use in recent times, it remains a part of French cultural heritage and serves as a reminder of the country's rich linguistic and historical traditions.
People
Marnette + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marnette 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
Marnette: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marnette?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 108 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marnette 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 3,173,651 US residents.
Is Marnette a common name?
We classify Marnette as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 176 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marnette most popular?
The single biggest year for Marnette was 1938, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marnette is about 68 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Marnette a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marnette 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.