Maryjo
A feminine given name merging Mary and Josephine.
Name Census estimates that about 5,036 living Americans carry the first name Maryjo. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Maryjo today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maryjo births was 1960 (293 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maryjo. 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
5.0K
~ 1 in 68,061 Americans
Peak year
1960
293 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,105
Tracked since 1915
Popularity
Maryjo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maryjo 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 2,081 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
Maryjo 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 Maryjo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maryjos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 22 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan recorded the most babies named Maryjo, while Utah, Nebraska, Maine recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 204 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maryjo
The name Maryjo is a unique combination derived from two different names, Mary and Jo. The first part, Mary, has its roots in the Hebrew name Miryam, which means "bitter" or "beloved." This name gained immense popularity due to its association with the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ in Christian theology.
Maryjo is believed to have originated in the late 19th or early 20th century, possibly as a creative fusion of the names Mary and Jo, which itself is a diminutive form of various names like Josephine, Johanna, or Joan. This combination of names was likely employed to create a distinctive and memorable moniker.
While there are no known ancient texts or historical records that specifically mention the name Maryjo, its constituent parts have a rich historical legacy. The name Mary has been widely used across various cultures and religions, appearing in numerous religious texts and historical accounts throughout the ages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of a person bearing the name Maryjo can be traced back to Maryjo Bates, an American author and journalist born in 1904. She gained recognition for her works on history and literature, including "The Housemaid's Daughter" and "The Story of Gardening."
Another notable figure with this name was Maryjo White, an American actress and singer who rose to fame in the 1930s and 1940s. She appeared in several Broadway productions and Hollywood films, including "The Philadelphia Story" and "Babes on Broadway."
In the field of sports, Maryjo Nisbett was a renowned American tennis player who achieved success in the 1940s and 1950s. She won multiple Grand Slam titles and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1958.
During the mid-20th century, Maryjo Tiedje made her mark as a celebrated American dancer and choreographer. Her contributions to modern dance were widely recognized, and she was a recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Capezio Dance Award.
Lastly, Maryjo Monette was a Canadian artist and painter who gained recognition for her vibrant abstract expressionist works in the latter half of the 20th century. Her paintings have been exhibited in various galleries and museums throughout North America.
These examples illustrate the diversity of individuals who have borne the name Maryjo throughout history, showcasing its unique and distinctive nature across various fields and eras.
People
Maryjo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maryjo 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
Maryjo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maryjo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,036 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maryjo 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 68,061 US residents.
Is Maryjo a common name?
We classify Maryjo as "Rare". It ranks above 96.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7,099 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maryjo most popular?
The single biggest year for Maryjo was 1960, when 293 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maryjo is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Maryjo a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maryjo 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.