Recorded 1899–2025 · United States
Marilyn was most popular in 1947, when 11,905 American babies were given the name — ranking #56 that year. In 2025 it ranked #1,490, with 356 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 374,857 people named Marilyn.
Marilyn first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1899, which makes it about 126 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 126 of the 127 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 374,857 American births named Marilyn between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 206,662 are estimated to be alive today.
356 American babies were named Marilyn in 2025, ranking #1,490 that year.
Marilyn is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 400 births a year, against 732 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -45% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Marilyn is a girl’s name — 99.7% of the 374,857 Americans given it were girls and 0.3% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 100% girls and 0% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 206,662 Americans named Marilyn are alive today — 55% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 74 years old, and half are between 65 and 81.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
English · a blend of Mary with the ending -lyn
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Marilyn on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org