Marylea
A feminine name combining "Mary" and "Lea", possibly meaning "bitter sea" or "beloved sea".
Name Census estimates that about 18 living Americans carry the first name Marylea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marylea today is around 75 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marylea births was 1941 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marylea. 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 Marylea is about 75 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Maryleas were born before 1961.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Marylea. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
18
~ 1 in 19,041,908 Americans
Peak year
1941
10 babies that year
Average age
75
years old
1960 SSA rank
#5,031
Tracked since 1919
Popularity
Marylea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marylea from the 1910s through to the 1960s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 21 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1940s peak, Marylea remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marylea 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 Marylea during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marylea
The given name Marylea is a combination of the names Mary and Lea. The name Mary is derived from the ancient Hebrew name Miryam, which means "bitter" or "beloved". This name gained widespread popularity due to its association with the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ in Christianity.
The name Lea, on the other hand, has its roots in the Hebrew name Leah, which means "weary" or "tired". In the Bible, Leah was the first wife of Jacob and the mother of six of the twelve tribes of Israel. The combination of these two names, Marylea, likely emerged as a way to honor and pay tribute to both biblical figures.
While the exact origin and earliest recorded use of the name Marylea are unclear, it is believed to have gained popularity in English-speaking countries, particularly in the United States and parts of Europe, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This period saw a surge in the use of compound names, often combining traditional names with unique variations or combining multiple names.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Marylea was Marylea Wrigley, born in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois. She was the daughter of William Wrigley Jr., the founder of the Wrigley Company, a prominent chewing gum manufacturer. Marylea Wrigley was known for her philanthropic efforts and her support of various organizations in the Chicago area.
Another notable individual with this name was Marylea Meylan, an American writer and journalist born in 1925. She was a prominent figure in the literary world and worked for various publications, including The New York Times and The Atlantic Monthly. Meylan was also an advocate for women's rights and was involved in various feminist movements.
In the field of music, Marylea Sidwell, born in 1938, was an American opera singer and soprano. She performed with several renowned opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, and was widely acclaimed for her performances in roles such as Violetta in La Traviata and Gilda in Rigoletto.
Marylea Towne, born in 1941, was an American artist and sculptor known for her large-scale public art installations. Her works can be found in various cities across the United States, including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Towne was also an educator and taught at several prestigious art institutions.
Finally, Marylea Charney, born in 1958, is an American writer and professor of English literature. She has authored several books and scholarly works, focusing on topics such as American literature, feminist theory, and popular culture. Charney has taught at various universities, including the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Arizona.
These individuals, spanning different eras and professions, demonstrate the enduring appeal and diverse applications of the name Marylea throughout history.
People
Marylea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marylea 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
Marylea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marylea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 18 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marylea 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 19,041,908 US residents.
Is Marylea a common name?
We classify Marylea as "Very Rare". It ranks above 38.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 46 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marylea most popular?
The single biggest year for Marylea was 1941, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marylea is about 75 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Marylea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marylea 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.