How Many People Are Named Marla?
An estimated 30,406 people in the United States have the first name Marla. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 57 years old, and Marla peaked in popularity in 1955 with 1,730 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Marla as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Marla paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- Marla has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
30,406
About 1 in 11,273 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
99.9% confidence
Average Age
57
years old
Peak Year
1955
1,730 births
Total Registered
38,728
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Marla
Marla is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 38,728 total births registered, 99.9% were female.
Marla as a male name
Ranked #6,997 in 1982
5 male births in 1982
Peak: 1961 (7 births)
Marla as a female name
Ranked #2,334 in 2024
79 female births in 2024
Peak: 1955 (1,725 births)
Marla: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Marla span from the 1910s to the 2020s, covering 12 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 11,452 babies were registered. Marla has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Marla by Decade
How has Marla tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Marla by State
Birth registrations for Marla span all 47 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Illinois, Texas. The lowest are in Alaska, Maine, Nevada. On average, about 745 Marlas were registered per state.
Marla + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Marla as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Marla
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
Marla: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marla?
We estimate approximately 30,406 people named Marla are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 11,273 Americans share this first name.
Is Marla a common name?
Marla is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 38,728 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Marla most popular?
Marla reached peak popularity in 1955, when 1,730 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Marla is approximately 57 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Marla a female name?
Marla is predominantly female. 99.9% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Marla Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Marla Smith, Marla Johnson, Marla Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
Search for a full name combination
How Many of Me