Marpessa
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "destructive" or "despoiler".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Marpessa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marpessa today is around 68 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marpessa births was 1960 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marpessa. 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 Marpessa is about 68 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Marpessas were born before 1968.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Marpessa. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
1960
8 babies that year
Average age
68
years old
1960 SSA rank
#5,029
Tracked since 1960
Popularity
Marpessa: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Marpessa 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 Marpessa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0 | 8 | 8 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Marpessa
The name Marpessa is derived from ancient Greek and has its roots in Greek mythology. It is believed to have originated from the Greek word "marptes" which means "seizer" or "catcher".
In Greek mythology, Marpessa was the name of a beautiful princess who was daughter of the river god Evenus. She was pursued by the god Apollo, who wanted her to be his wife. However, Marpessa chose to marry the mortal Idas, leading to a famous contest between Apollo and Idas to determine her fate.
The earliest known written reference to the name Marpessa can be found in the works of the ancient Greek poet Hesiod, who lived around the 8th century BC. Hesiod mentions Marpessa in his epic poem "Catalogue of Women".
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Marpessa was Marpessa of Paionia, a noblewoman who lived in the 4th century BC. She was the wife of Protogenes, one of the generals of Alexander the Great.
In the 3rd century BC, there was a Greek queen named Marpessa who ruled over the city-state of Cyzicus in modern-day Turkey. She was known for her beauty and intelligence.
During the Renaissance period, the name Marpessa was used by Italian poet Luigi Tansillo in his work "The Tears of Marpessa" (Le Lagrime di Marpessa), published in 1560. This poem was inspired by the Greek myth and helped to popularize the name in literary circles.
In the 19th century, English author Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, best known for her novel "Frankenstein", used the name Marpessa for a character in her novel "Valperga" (1823).
Another notable figure with the name Marpessa was Marpessa Dawn, an American writer and poet who lived from 1934 to 2008. She was known for her work exploring themes of spirituality and women's empowerment.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Marpessa
People
Marpessa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marpessa 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
Marpessa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marpessa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marpessa 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Marpessa a common name?
We classify Marpessa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 8 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marpessa most popular?
The single biggest year for Marpessa was 1960, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marpessa is about 68 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Marpessa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marpessa 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.