Maryfrances
A feminine name combining Mary (Hebrew for "bitter" or "beloved") and Frances (Frankish for "free").
Name Census estimates that about 715 living Americans carry the first name Maryfrances. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Maryfrances today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maryfrances births was 1963 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maryfrances. 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
715
~ 1 in 479,377 Americans
Peak year
1963
31 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,772
Tracked since 1913
Popularity
Maryfrances: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maryfrances from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 193 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
Maryfrances 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 Maryfrances during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maryfrances' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Maryfrances
The given name Maryfrances is a combination of two separate names: Mary and Frances. Mary is a feminine name derived from the ancient Hebrew name Miriam. It is one of the oldest and most popular names in the Christian tradition, as it was the name of the mother of Jesus Christ. The name Miriam itself means "bitter" or "beloved" in Hebrew.
Frances, on the other hand, is a feminine form of the masculine name Francis, which originates from the Latin name Franciscus. Franciscus is derived from the Germanic name Franco, meaning "free" or "Frenchman." The name Francis gained significant popularity due to St. Francis of Assisi, the Italian Catholic friar and preacher who lived in the 12th and 13th centuries.
While the combination of Mary and Frances into Maryfrances is relatively modern, both names have a rich historical background. Mary has been a popular name throughout the Christian world for centuries, appearing in various religious texts and historical records. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the New Testament of the Bible, where Mary is mentioned as the mother of Jesus.
Frances, or its masculine form Francis, also has a long history. St. Francis of Assisi, born in 1181 or 1182 and died in 1226, was a renowned figure in the Catholic Church and is the patron saint of animals and the environment. His name became popular among Catholics and was later adopted by other Christian denominations.
Some notable historical figures with the name Maryfrances include:
1. Maryfrances Wickes (1876-1970), an American actress and singer.
2. Maryfrances Cooke (1927-2016), an American Catholic nun and civil rights activist.
3. Maryfrances Reilly (born 1945), an American actress and singer.
4. Maryfrances Wilkerson (born 1952), an American politician and educator.
5. Maryfrances Quiroz (born 1963), a Mexican-American artist and educator.
It's important to note that while the name Maryfrances is relatively uncommon, it reflects the combination of two historically significant names from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, each with its own rich heritage and meaning.
People
Maryfrances + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maryfrances 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
Maryfrances: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maryfrances?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 715 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maryfrances 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 479,377 US residents.
Is Maryfrances a common name?
We classify Maryfrances as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 929 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maryfrances most popular?
The single biggest year for Maryfrances was 1963, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maryfrances is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Maryfrances a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maryfrances 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.