How Many People Are Named Marlin?
An estimated 13,550 people in the United States have the first name Marlin. It is predominantly male (92.8%). The average bearer is 52 years old, and Marlin peaked in popularity in 1935 with 400 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Marlin 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 Marlin paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
13,550
About 1 in 25,296 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
92.8% confidence
Average Age
52
years old
Peak Year
1935
400 births
Total Registered
22,725
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Marlin
Marlin is predominantly male (92.8%), though 1,647 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Marlin as a male name
Ranked #1,940 in 2024
81 male births in 2024
Peak: 1935 (386 births)
Marlin as a female name
Ranked #9,967 in 2024
10 female births in 2024
Peak: 1991 (42 births)
Marlin: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Marlin span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1930s, when 3,508 babies were registered. Marlin has declined significantly from its peak in the 1930s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Marlin by Decade
How has Marlin 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.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 6 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 36 | 36 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 124 | 124 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 1,122 | 1,111 | 11 | |
| 1920s | 2,339 | 2,308 | 31 | |
| 1930s | 3,508 | 3,409 | 99 | |
| 1940s | 3,143 | 3,013 | 130 | |
| 1950s | 2,988 | 2,881 | 107 | |
| 1960s | 2,228 | 2,093 | 135 | |
| 1970s | 1,941 | 1,838 | 103 | |
| 1980s | 1,291 | 1,125 | 166 | |
| 1990s | 1,368 | 1,094 | 274 | |
| 2000s | 1,213 | 877 | 336 | |
| 2010s | 974 | 779 | 195 | |
| 2020s | 444 | 384 | 60 | |
Marlin by State
Birth registrations for Marlin span all 39 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio. The lowest are in New Mexico, New Jersey, Montana. On average, about 416 Marlins were registered per state.
Marlin + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Marlin as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Marlin
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
Marlin: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marlin?
We estimate approximately 13,550 people named Marlin 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 25,296 Americans share this first name.
Is Marlin a common name?
Marlin is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.1% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 22,725 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Marlin most popular?
Marlin reached peak popularity in 1935, when 400 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Marlin is approximately 52 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Marlin a male name?
Marlin is predominantly male. 92.8% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Marlin Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Marlin Smith, Marlin Johnson, Marlin 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.
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