Girls' name · peaked in 1936
Marilyn name popularity since 1925
365,342 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Marilyn. Half of them were born in 1946 or earlier, so the typical Marilyn is about 80 years old in 2026. Marilyn peaked in 1936 as the #13 name for girls, and it ranked #761 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 365,342
- Named Marilyn, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #761
- for girls in 2025 (356 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 364,286 girls · 1,056 boys
- Most popular in
- Iowa
- 2.31× its national share
Peak year is the year Marilyn made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Marilyn births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1947. Measured as a share of all babies, Marilyn peaked in 1936.
- Fastest rise: Between 1925 and 1930, Marilyn became 2.9× more common.
- Steepest fall: Between 1954 and 1959, its share of baby girls fell by 61%, from 1 in 180 to 1 in 466.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Marilyn's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Marilyn.
Decade by decade
Babies named Marilyn in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 26,140 | 83 | – |
| 1930s | 98,531 | 344 | #14 |
| 1940s | 98,977 | 249 | #27 |
| 1950s | 80,161 | 167 | #49 |
| 1960s | 27,002 | 103 | #151 |
| 1970s | 7,930 | 62 | #339 |
| 1980s | 5,578 | 32 | #422 |
| 1990s | 5,750 | 16 | #446 |
| 2000s | 5,376 | 0 | #560 |
| 2010s | 6,382 | 0 | #426 |
| 2020–25 | 2,459 | 0 | #761 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
46.1% of babies named Marilyn from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Marilyn is most popular
The index compares Marilyn's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Marilyn.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Iowa | 2.31× | 10,728 |
| Nebraska | 2.06× | 5,277 |
| South Dakota | 2.05× | 2,389 |
| North Dakota | 1.95× | 2,247 |
| Kansas | 1.73× | 6,453 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Marilyn and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Marilyn (this page) | 364,286 | 1936 |
| Marilynn | 12,122 | 1944 |
| Marylyn | 3,166 | 1936 |
| Marolyn | 1,340 | 1938 |
| Maralyn | 1,232 | 1938 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Marilyn's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Marilyn.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Marilyn (1936).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data