Marvelous
Marked by extreme excellence; astonishing and extraordinary.
Name Census estimates that about 331 living Americans carry the first name Marvelous. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 67.5% of registrations being male. The average person named Marvelous today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marvelous births was 2019 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marvelous. 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 Marvelous with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
331
~ 1 in 1,035,512 Americans
Peak year
2019
25 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,504
Tracked since 1964
Census
Marvelous in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 396 people with the first name Marvelous, which placed it at #24,370 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
#24,370
National first-name rank
People counted
396
396 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
81.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marvelous
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marvelous is Black at 81.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (8.8%) and Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Marvelous 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 Marvelous at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American81.6% · 323
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.8% · 35
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 17
- Two or more races2.3% · 9
- White1.8% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Marvelous
Marvelous is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 335 total registrations, 226 (67.5%) were male and 109 (32.5%) were female.
Marvelous as a male name
- Ranked #10,504 in 2024
- 7 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2019 (16 births)
Marvelous as a female name
- Ranked #10,849 in 2023
- 9 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2020 (12 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Marvelous on both sides of the split. Of the 401 people counted with this name, 220 were male (54.9%) and 181 were female (45.1%).
Popularity
Marvelous: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marvelous from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 158 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Marvelous remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marvelous 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 Marvelous during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marvelous' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Marvelous
The given name Marvelous is a relatively modern invention, emerging in the late 19th century as an English language name. It derives from the adjective "marvelous," which traces its origins to the Old French "mervelous" and the Latin "mirabilis," meaning "wonderful" or "admirable." The name was likely coined as a descriptor, reflecting a sense of awe or wonder.
While the name itself does not have ancient roots, its underlying meaning has been celebrated across cultures and time periods. The concept of marveling at the wonders of the world is present in various religious and philosophical traditions, from the reverence for nature in indigenous belief systems to the appreciation of beauty and creation in Abrahamic faiths.
The earliest recorded instances of Marvelous as a given name can be found in late 19th century census records and birth registries, primarily in English-speaking countries. One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name was Marvelous Hettie Smith, born in 1887 in Tennessee, United States.
Throughout the 20th century, Marvelous gained popularity as a unique and aspirational name choice, particularly in African American communities. Prominent individuals who carried this name include:
1. Marvelous Marvin Hagler (1954-2021), an American professional boxer and former undisputed middleweight champion.
2. Marvelous Marvin Motah (born 1943), an American professional basketball player and coach.
3. Marvelous Marvin Ishmael (born 1969), a Trinidadian and Tobagonian former professional boxer.
4. Marvelous Mike Tyson (born 1966), an American professional boxer and former undisputed heavyweight champion.
5. Marvelous Merv Larkin (born 1942), an American former professional baseball player.
While historically uncommon, the name Marvelous reflects a spirit of wonder and appreciation for the extraordinary. Its modern usage celebrates these qualities and serves as a unique and inspiring name choice for parents seeking to instill a sense of awe and amazement in their children.
People
Marvelous + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marvelous 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
Marvelous: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marvelous?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 331 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marvelous 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 1,035,512 US residents.
Is Marvelous a common name?
We classify Marvelous as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 335 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marvelous most popular?
The single biggest year for Marvelous was 2019, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marvelous is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marvelous in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 396 people with the name Marvelous, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,370 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 Marvelous 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 Marvelous?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Marvelous on both sides of the split. Of the 401 people counted with this name, 220 were male (54.9%) and 181 were female (45.1%). 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 Marvelous?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marvelous is Black at 81.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (8.8%) and Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Marvelous most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Marvelous in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.6% (323 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 Marvelous in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marvelous a male name?
Yes, 67.5% of people registered as Marvelous 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 Marvelous still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marvelous 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 Marvelous 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 people are named Marvelous?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.