Marvin Gaye
There are approximately 1 people named Marvin Gaye living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Marvin with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Gaye. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
1
1 in 342,754,338
Named Marvin
130K
Alive today
Named Gaye
1.9K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 130K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1928
Average age: 58
Estimated bearers: 1.9K
Rarity: Rare
Census rank: #17,447
Per 100K: 0.55
Top ancestry: Black (80.5%)
First name trend
Marvin: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Marvin. The peak year was 1928 with 4,484 births. The average person named Marvin today is 58 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Gaye surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Gaye, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is Black at 80.5%.
- Black or African American80.5%
- White15.8%
- Two or more races1.7%
- Hispanic or Latino1.4%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Marvin has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0378% of the US population, based on 129,664 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Gaye appears at a rate of 0.55 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0006%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 1 people with the full name Marvin Gaye. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Marvin
Related
Other people with the surname Gaye
FAQ
Marvin Gaye: questions and answers
How many people are named Marvin Gaye?
We estimate approximately 1 people in the United States share the full name Marvin Gaye. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0378%) with the surname frequency (0.55 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Marvin Gaye?
We classify Marvin Gaye as "Very Rare". About 1 in 342,754,338 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Marvin a male or female name?
Marvin is predominantly male. Out of 255,401 total SSA registrations, 99.4% were male and 0.6% were female. See the full Marvin profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.