Unisex name ★ peaked 1924

Marion

Gender Unisex · 72% girls Rank 2025 #2,044 Trend ↓ Falling 11%

From Middle English Marion, from Old French Marion, a diminutive of Marie, used in England since the Middle Ages.

Rank 2025
#2,044
among girls · ↓167 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
147
named Marion · -13% vs 2024
How common
1 in 17,282
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1924
7,660 babies
All-time total
261,713
#210 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Marion popularity over time

261,713 babies have been named Marion since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
1.883.755.637.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 2,109 1,624 3,733 373 – #113
1890s 7,310 1,508 8,818 882 +136% #60
1900s 11,713 1,967 13,680 1,368 +55% #58
1910s 37,974 10,156 48,130 4,813 +252% #44
1920s 55,178 16,035 71,213 7,121 +48% #42
1930s 29,565 11,859 41,424 4,142 -42% #60
1940s 18,490 9,668 28,158 2,816 -32% #120
1950s 11,883 7,261 19,144 1,914 -32% #196
1960s 6,212 4,343 10,555 1,056 -45% #330
1970s 2,562 2,664 5,226 523 -50% #513
1980s 1,762 1,652 3,414 341 -35% #777
1990s 1,315 1,180 2,495 250 -27% #1,055
2000s 1,142 1,353 2,495 250 0% #1,342
2010s 1,324 892 2,216 222 -11% #1,454
2020s (to 2025) 679 333 1,012 169 -24% #1,647

Where Marion is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 90 0.06 outside top 500
2027 88 0.05 outside top 500
2028 86 0.05 outside top 500
2029 85 0.05 outside top 500
2030 84 0.05 outside top 500

Where Marion is most popular

Girls named Marion per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.071 per 1,000. Strongest in Washington, Virginia, and Oregon.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Marion born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Washington 28 0.194 +174%
Virginia 24 0.141 +99%
Oregon 9 0.138 +96%
Colorado 15 0.134 +90%
South Carolina 8 0.089 +26%
New York 32 0.081 +14%
Louisiana 6 0.069 ≈ national
North Carolina 15 0.066 -7%
California 45 0.054 -24%
Georgia 12 0.053 -25%
Texas 42 0.052 -26%
Pennsylvania 12 0.051 -28%
Massachusetts 6 0.050 -30%
Minnesota 5 0.046 -34%
Tennessee 5 0.032 -55%
Florida 13 0.030 -57%
Michigan 5 0.027 -61%
Illinois 5 0.022 -69%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Ohio – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Marion

Marion is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #2,044 in 2025 with 93 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 261,713 American babies have been named Marion, about 72% girls and 28% boys, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 1924, when 7,660 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1920s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Marion stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Marion?

The median living Marion is about 72 years old; half are between 57 and 82. An estimated 69 thousand people named Marion are alive in the United States today.

median 72 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Marion year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 93 #2,044 54 #2,504
2024 107 #1,877 62 #2,302
2023 125 #1,664 59 #2,354
2022 121 #1,729 61 #2,341
2021 127 #1,647 40 #3,057
2020 106 #1,847 57 #2,360
2019 139 #1,556 70 #2,074
2018 134 #1,606 76 #1,949
2017 142 #1,550 77 #1,889
2016 159 #1,454 77 #1,914
2015 150 #1,511 77 #1,905
2014 142 #1,541 82 #1,822
2013 140 #1,556 97 #1,599
2012 109 #1,855 110 #1,475
2011 111 #1,826 102 #1,557
2010 98 #2,037 124 #1,370
2009 110 #1,910 119 #1,418
2008 97 #2,100 140 #1,248
2007 113 #1,865 146 #1,213
2006 97 #2,046 156 #1,118
2005 103 #1,888 167 #1,016
2004 112 #1,732 138 #1,143
2003 119 #1,623 158 #1,004
2002 130 #1,477 120 #1,175
2001 120 #1,554 106 #1,263
2000 141 #1,342 103 #1,269
1995 108 #1,479 90 #1,229
1990 166 #1,069 136 #884
1985 168 #937 155 #712
1980 190 #828 204 #614
1975 233 #652 245 #513
1970 383 #513 304 #465
1965 567 #387 430 #374
1960 810 #330 540 #335
1955 1,147 #240 712 #264
1950 1,387 #196 820 #224
1945 1,602 #145 841 #184
1940 2,111 #120 1,049 #158
1935 2,813 #88 1,181 #134
1930 4,305 #60 1,389 #126
1925 5,577 #47 1,617 #109
1920 5,745 #43 1,604 #109
1915 4,456 #50 1,295 #112
1910 1,703 #59 286 #108
1905 1,141 #65 170 #127
1900 1,197 #66 189 #124
1895 856 #69 148 #115
1890 386 #106 137 #116
1885 198 #126 141 #103
1880 115 #137 189 #80

Famous people named Marion

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Marion Cotillard Marion Cotillard French actress (born 1975) Contemporary
  2. 2 Marion Ross Marion Ross American actress (born 1928) Contemporary
  3. 3 Marion Jones Marion Jones American athlete (born 1975) Contemporary
  4. 4 Marion Davies Marion Davies American actress (1897–1961) 19th century
  5. 5 Marion Zimmer Bradley Marion Zimmer Bradley American author (1930–1999) Contemporary
  6. 6 Marion Ramsey Marion Ramsey American actress (1947–2021) Contemporary
  7. 7 Marion Lorne Marion Lorne American actress (1883–1968) 19th century
  8. 8 Marion Bartoli Marion Bartoli French tennis player (born 1984) Contemporary
  9. 9 Marion Maréchal Marion Maréchal French politician (born 1989) Contemporary
  10. 10 Marion Raven Marion Raven Norwegian singer (born 1984) Contemporary
  11. 11 Marion Dönhoff Marion Dönhoff German publisher (1909–2002) Contemporary
  12. 12 Marion Rung Marion Rung Finnish pop singer (born 1945) Contemporary
  13. 13 Marion Leonard Marion Leonard American actress (1881–1956) 19th century
  14. 14 Marion Jones Farquhar Marion Jones Farquhar American tennis player 1879–1965 · 19th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Marion, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Marion?

The median living Marion is about 72 years old. Half of all living Marions are between 57 and 82 years old.

How many people named Marion are alive today?

An estimated 69 thousand people named Marion are alive in the United States, based on 261,713 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Marion mean?

From Middle English Marion, from Old French Marion, a diminutive of Marie, used in England since the Middle Ages.

How popular is the name Marion in 2025?

Marion ranked #2,044 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 93 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Marion?

261,713 babies have been named Marion in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Marion most popular?

Marion peaked in 1924, when 7,660 newborns received the name.

Is Marion a boy or girl name?

Marion is used for both: about 72% of babies named Marion have been girls and 28% boys.

Is the name Marion rising or falling?

Marion is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Marion become more popular?

Marion is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 84 girls named Marion in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Marion?

Well-known people named Marion include Marion Cotillard (actor), Marion Ross (actor), Marion Jones (basketball player).

Names like Marion

Names that sound and feel close to Marion: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Marion with similar names → More names starting with M →