Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 2008

Marlee

Meaning A female given name transferred from the surname Gender Girl · 2% boys Rank 2025 #536 Trend ↓ Falling 11%

A female given name transferred from the surname.

Rank 2025
#536
among girls · ↓26 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
577
named Marlee · -6% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,850
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2008
900 babies
All-time total
17,923
#1,151 all-time among girls
First recorded
1915
in Social Security records

Marlee popularity over time

17,923 babies have been named Marlee since 1915, 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
0.130.250.380.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s 5 – 5 1 – #4,719
1920s – – – – – –
1930s 94 – 94 9 – #1,850
1940s 158 – 158 16 +68% #1,921
1950s 194 – 194 19 +23% #2,035
1960s 166 – 166 17 -14% #2,390
1970s 180 – 180 18 +8% #2,604
1980s 473 – 473 47 +163% #1,312
1990s 2,064 – 2,064 206 +336% #707
2000s 4,018 39 4,057 406 +97% #367
2010s 6,431 146 6,577 658 +62% #447
2020s (to 2025) 3,871 84 3,955 659 0% #430

Where Marlee 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 555 0.35 outside top 500
2027 547 0.34 outside top 500
2028 541 0.34 outside top 500
2029 535 0.33 outside top 500
2030 531 0.33 outside top 500

Where Marlee is most popular

Girls named Marlee per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.389 per 1,000. Strongest in West Virginia, Mississippi, and Wyoming.

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 Marlee 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
West Virginia 42 1.60 +312%
Mississippi 62 1.33 +241%
Wyoming 5 1.17 +201%
Alabama 100 1.07 +174%
Kentucky 91 1.06 +173%
Louisiana 84 0.960 +147%
South Dakota 13 0.911 +134%
Arkansas 47 0.889 +129%
Tennessee 139 0.877 +125%
Iowa 49 0.839 +116%
Oklahoma 61 0.829 +113%
Georgia 188 0.828 +113%
South Carolina 65 0.723 +86%
Missouri 87 0.722 +86%
Utah 57 0.685 +76%
Indiana 94 0.670 +72%
Ohio 152 0.641 +65%
Idaho 21 0.628 +61%
Kansas 35 0.607 +56%
Wisconsin 59 0.573 +47%
Maryland 58 0.547 +41%
Michigan 99 0.544 +40%
North Carolina 123 0.540 +39%
Nebraska 19 0.529 +36%
Minnesota 56 0.519 +33%
Pennsylvania 121 0.512 +32%
Colorado 51 0.457 +17%
North Dakota 6 0.456 +17%
Connecticut 26 0.447 +15%
Virginia 76 0.446 +15%
Delaware 5 0.441 +13%
Arizona 60 0.428 +10%
Florida 173 0.404 ≈ national
Oregon 25 0.384 ≈ national
New Hampshire 7 0.379 ≈ national
Washington 52 0.360 -7%
Maine 5 0.323 -17%
Texas 247 0.307 -21%
New Jersey 51 0.283 -27%
New York 94 0.237 -39%
Illinois 50 0.218 -44%
Massachusetts 24 0.198 -49%
California 143 0.170 -56%
Nevada 5 0.108 -72%
Alaska – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Montana – – –
New Mexico – – –
Rhode Island – – –
Vermont – – –

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 Marlee

Marlee is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #536 in 2025 with 564 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1915, 17,923 American babies have been named Marlee. Its peak came in 2008, when 900 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2000s.

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 Marlee stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Marlee?

The median living Marlee is about 13 years old; half are between 6 and 20. An estimated 18 thousand people named Marlee are alive in the United States today.

median 13 020406080100

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

Marlee 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 564 #536 13 #6,678
2024 605 #510 11 #7,569
2023 608 #501 11 #7,573
2022 696 #455 17 #5,555
2021 684 #460 16 #5,697
2020 714 #430 16 #5,607
2019 697 #447 18 #5,277
2018 654 #482 24 #4,310
2017 648 #481 20 #4,869
2016 708 #454 17 #5,459
2015 696 #455 21 #4,650
2014 676 #470 19 #4,996
2013 651 #472 – –
2012 571 #533 9 #8,620
2011 549 #528 7 #10,359
2010 581 #514 11 #7,405
2009 792 #398 17 #5,466
2008 890 #367 10 #8,079
2007 364 #793 7 #10,490
2006 359 #766 – –
2005 332 #785 – –
2004 305 #821 5 #12,535
2003 283 #856 – –
2002 244 #917 – –
2001 230 #957 – –
2000 219 #968 – –
1995 183 #1,014 – –
1990 154 #1,128 – –
1985 39 #2,523 – –
1980 11 #6,165 – –
1975 19 #3,588 – –
1970 22 #3,078 – –
1965 12 #3,871 – –
1960 15 #3,302 – –
1955 13 #3,321 – –
1950 23 #2,035 – –
1945 20 #1,921 – –
1940 13 #2,376 – –
1935 – – – –
1930 6 #4,372 – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 5 #4,719 – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Marlee

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

  1. 1 Marlee Matlin Marlee Matlin American actress (born 1965) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Marlee?

The median living Marlee is about 13 years old. Half of all living Marlees are between 6 and 20 years old.

How many people named Marlee are alive today?

An estimated 18 thousand people named Marlee are alive in the United States, based on 17,923 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Marlee mean?

A female given name transferred from the surname.

How popular is the name Marlee in 2025?

Marlee ranked #536 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 564 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Marlee?

17,923 babies have been named Marlee in the United States since 1915, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Marlee most popular?

Marlee peaked in 2008, when 900 newborns received the name.

Is Marlee a boy or girl name?

Marlee is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 98% of babies with the name.

Is the name Marlee rising or falling?

Marlee has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Marlee become more popular?

Marlee looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 531 girls named Marlee in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Marlee?

Well-known people named Marlee include Marlee Matlin (actor).

Names like Marlee

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

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