Marvel
A name likely inspired by the sense of "something wonderful or astonishing".
Name Census estimates that about 2,037 living Americans carry the first name Marvel. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 79.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Marvel today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marvel births was 1929 (181 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marvel. 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
- • Marvel was once a predominantly female name but has become increasingly popular for boys in recent decades.
People living today
2.0K
~ 1 in 168,264 Americans
Peak year
1929
181 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,791
Tracked since 1889
Gender
Gender distribution for Marvel
Marvel is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 6,533 total registrations, 1,352 (20.7%) were male and 5,181 (79.3%) were female.
Marvel as a male name
- Ranked #5,791 in 2024
- 16 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2019 (32 births)
Marvel as a female name
- Ranked #7,434 in 2024
- 15 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1929 (171 births)
Popularity
Marvel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marvel from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 1,532 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marvel 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 Marvel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marvels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 23 states and territories. Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan recorded the most babies named Marvel, while New York, Oklahoma, Montana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 104 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marvel
The name Marvel has its origins in the Latin word "mirabilis," which means "wonderful" or "marvelous." This name was likely first used during the early days of the Roman Empire, around the 1st century AD.
In ancient Roman texts and records, the word "mirabilis" was often used to describe something extraordinary or awe-inspiring. It's believed that the name Marvel was derived from this word and initially given to children as a way to express the parents' sense of wonder and joy at their birth.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Marvel can be found in the writings of the Roman philosopher and statesman, Seneca the Younger, who lived from 4 BC to 65 AD. He refers to a man named Marvel in one of his letters, suggesting that the name was in use during that time period.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Marvel remained relatively rare, but it did appear in various historical documents and records across Europe. For instance, a French nobleman named Marvel de Montfort is mentioned in the chronicles of the Crusades in the 12th century.
In the Renaissance period, the name Marvel gained some popularity, particularly in Italy. One notable figure from this era was Marvel Vettori, an Italian humanist and scholar who lived from 1435 to 1516. He was known for his work translating and commenting on ancient Greek texts.
During the 17th century, the name Marvel was occasionally used in England and other parts of the British Isles. One example is Marvel Westrop, an English landowner and politician who lived from 1620 to 1692.
In the 19th century, the name Marvel experienced a resurgence in popularity, particularly in the United States. One famous individual with this name was Marvel Mills, an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Illinois from 1873 to 1877.
Another notable figure was Marvel Woodbury, an American businessman and philanthropist who lived from 1834 to 1913. He made a fortune in the textile industry and donated significant funds to various educational and cultural institutions.
People
Marvel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marvel 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
Marvel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marvel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,037 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marvel 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 168,264 US residents.
Is Marvel a common name?
We classify Marvel as "Rare". It ranks above 93.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,533 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marvel most popular?
The single biggest year for Marvel was 1929, when 181 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marvel is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Marvel a female name?
Yes, 79.3% of people registered as Marvel 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.