Maryland
A feminine name of American origin referring to the U.S. state.
Name Census estimates that about 469 living Americans carry the first name Maryland. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 75.7% of registrations being female. The average person named Maryland today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maryland births was 1927 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maryland. 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
- • The typical person named Maryland is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Marylands were born before 1967.
People living today
469
~ 1 in 730,819 Americans
Peak year
1927
39 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
1967 SSA rank
#3,825
Tracked since 1884
Census
Maryland in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,030 people with the first name Maryland, which placed it at #12,181 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
#12,181
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,030 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
46.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maryland
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maryland is White at 46.0%. The next largest groups are Black (34.8%) and Hispanic (11.6%). 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 Maryland 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 Maryland at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White46.0% · 474
- Black or African American34.8% · 358
- Hispanic or Latino11.6% · 119
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.3% · 44
- Two or more races1.7% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 17
Gender
Gender distribution for Maryland
Maryland is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,299 total registrations, 316 (24.3%) were male and 983 (75.7%) were female.
Maryland as a male name
- Ranked #3,825 in 1967
- 6 male births in 1967
- Peak: 1919 (12 births)
Maryland as a female name
- Ranked #16,665 in 2020
- 5 female births in 2020
- Peak: 1927 (33 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Maryland leans strongly female. 919 people counted with this name were female (89.7%), compared with 106 male bearers (10.3%).
Popularity
Maryland: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maryland from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 272 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
Maryland 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 Maryland during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marylands live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. North Carolina, Maryland, Florida recorded the most babies named Maryland, while Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maryland
The given name Maryland originated in the United States, derived from the name of the U.S. state of Maryland. The state was named in honor of Henrietta Maria, the queen consort of King Charles I of England, who reigned from 1625 to 1649. The name Maryland is a combination of the name Maria and the English word "land."
While the name itself doesn't have a direct connection to any ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is rooted in the name Maria, which has biblical and religious significance. Maria is the Latin form of the Hebrew name Miriam, which means "bitter" or "beloved." It was the name of the Virgin Mary in the New Testament.
The earliest recorded use of the name Maryland as a given name is believed to be in the late 19th century or early 20th century. It gained popularity in the United States as a way to honor the state of Maryland and its historical significance.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the first name Maryland was Maryland Pettibone (1870-1953), an American suffragist and activist for women's rights. She was born in Ohio and played a significant role in the women's suffrage movement in the early 20th century.
Another notable figure with the name Maryland was Maryland Manson (1888-1975), an American actress and vaudeville performer. She appeared in several Broadway productions and silent films during the early 20th century.
In the literary world, Maryland Naff (1918-2005) was an American writer and educator. She was born in Maryland and wrote several books, including "Becoming American: The Early Arab Immigrant Experience" and "Arabians in America."
Maryland Hahn (1920-2010) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Santa Ana, California, from 1981 to 1986. She was a prominent figure in local politics and was recognized for her efforts to revitalize the city's downtown area.
Maryland Winder (1922-2013) was an American author and journalist. She wrote several books, including "The Erotic Harlequin: Four Centuries of Venus Unmasked" and "Weecee's Family: A Novel of Acadian Life."
These individuals, spanning various fields and time periods, exemplify the use of the given name Maryland throughout history, reflecting its connection to the state and its unique origin.
People
Maryland + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maryland 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
Maryland: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maryland?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 469 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maryland 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 730,819 US residents.
Is Maryland a common name?
We classify Maryland as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,299 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maryland most popular?
The single biggest year for Maryland was 1927, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maryland is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Maryland in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,030 people with the name Maryland, or 0.34 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,181 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 Maryland 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 Maryland?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Maryland leans strongly female. 919 people counted with this name were female (89.7%), compared with 106 male bearers (10.3%). 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 Maryland?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maryland is White at 46.0%. The next largest groups are Black (34.8%) and Hispanic (11.6%). 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 Maryland most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Maryland in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.0% (474 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 Maryland in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maryland a female name?
Yes, 75.7% of people registered as Maryland 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.
Is Maryland still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maryland 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 Maryland 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 share the name Maryland?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.