Marilyn
A twentieth-century American blend of Mary with the fashionable -lyn ending.
Popularity, 1880–2025
Marilyn first shows up in the national records in 1899. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in every year from 1925 to 1958. Its biggest year was 1947, when 11,881 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 29 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1936, at No. 13. In 2025 it ranked No. 760 for girls. All told, 374,857 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Marlene (130,932), Marlon (31,292), Marlin (22,834), Marilynn (13,282), Marlyn (9,112), Marlen (6,438) (total births since 1880)
Other names that share a story: Mary
Explore Marilyn interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1890s | 5 | No. 1596 |
| 1900s | 132 | No. 742 |
| 1910s | 1,306 | No. 313 |
| 1920s | 34,202 | No. 33 |
| 1930s | 98,531 | No. 13 |
| 1940s | 98,977 | No. 25 |
| 1950s | 80,161 | No. 35 |
| 1960s | 27,002 | No. 117 |
| 1970s | 7,930 | No. 239 |
| 1980s | 5,578 | No. 368 |
| 1990s | 5,750 | No. 378 |
| 2000s | 5,376 | No. 496 |
| 2010s | 6,382 | No. 373 |
| 2020s | 2,459 | No. 634 |
Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.