Maryellen
Sweet-smelling bitter, combining the names Mary and Ellen of Aramaic and Greek origins.
Name Census estimates that about 8,255 living Americans carry the first name Maryellen. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Maryellen today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maryellen births was 1960 (471 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maryellen. 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
8.3K
~ 1 in 41,521 Americans
Peak year
1960
471 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,814
Tracked since 1891
Popularity
Maryellen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maryellen from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 2,969 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maryellen 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 Maryellen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maryellens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 22 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts recorded the most babies named Maryellen, while Maine, Arizona, Washington recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 436 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maryellen
The name Maryellen is a combination of the two names Mary and Ellen. The name Mary has its origins in the Hebrew name Miriam, which means "beloved" or "wished-for child." It is a name that has been popular across various cultures and religions for centuries.
The name Ellen is derived from the Greek name Helen, which means "bright" or "shining light." It is believed to have been introduced to Britain by the Normans and became a popular name during the Middle Ages.
The combination of these two names, Maryellen, is thought to have emerged in the 19th century as a way to honor both the Virgin Mary and the popular name Ellen. The name was particularly common among families of Irish and Scottish descent.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Maryellen can be found in the 1860 United States Federal Census, where a woman named Maryellen Kelley was listed as residing in New York City.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Maryellen. Maryellen Butke Smith (1914-2006) was an American politician who served as the Secretary of State of Iowa from 1963 to 1967. Maryellen Noren (1921-2019) was a renowned American lawyer and civil rights activist who fought for gender equality and women's rights.
Maryellen Camilli (1892-1972) was an Italian-American actress and singer who appeared in various Broadway productions and films during the early 20th century. Maryellen Toman Bacon (1901-1984) was an American sculptor and artist known for her works depicting Native American subjects.
Another notable figure with the name Maryellen was Maryellen Goodloe (1919-2011), an American author and journalist who wrote extensively about the environment and conservation efforts in the United States.
People
Maryellen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maryellen 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
Maryellen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maryellen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8,255 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maryellen 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 41,521 US residents.
Is Maryellen a common name?
We classify Maryellen as "Rare". It ranks above 97.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 13,120 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maryellen most popular?
The single biggest year for Maryellen was 1960, when 471 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maryellen is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Maryellen a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maryellen 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.