How Many People Are Named Mary?
An estimated 1,492,757 people in the United States have the first name Mary, ranking it #13 among all first names. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 65 years old, and Mary peaked in popularity in 1921 with 74,171 births that year. It has a similar number of bearers to Jennifer (1,340,714).
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Mary 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 Mary paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Mary is overwhelmingly female, 15,172 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Mary has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
1,492,757
About 1 in 230 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.6% confidence
Average Age
65
years old
Peak Year
1921
74,171 births
Total Registered
4,154,332
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Mary
Mary is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 4,154,332 total births registered, 99.6% were female.
Mary as a male name
Ranked #13,358 in 2020
5 male births in 2020
Peak: 1930 (340 births)
Mary as a female name
Ranked #132 in 2024
2,196 female births in 2024
Peak: 1921 (73,984 births)
Mary: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Mary span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 704,187 babies were registered. Mary has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Mary by Decade
How has Mary 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 | 92,030 | 362 | 91,668 | |
| 1890s | 131,632 | 494 | 131,138 | |
| 1900s | 162,187 | 683 | 161,504 | |
| 1910s | 480,009 | 1,373 | 478,636 | |
| 1920s | 704,187 | 2,431 | 701,756 | |
| 1930s | 576,025 | 3,028 | 572,997 | |
| 1940s | 642,374 | 2,304 | 640,070 | |
| 1950s | 627,147 | 1,538 | 625,609 | |
| 1960s | 356,583 | 1,345 | 355,238 | |
| 1970s | 126,934 | 680 | 126,254 | |
| 1980s | 96,472 | 610 | 95,862 | |
| 1990s | 75,910 | 197 | 75,713 | |
| 2000s | 46,416 | 106 | 46,310 | |
| 2010s | 25,699 | 16 | 25,683 | |
| 2020s | 10,727 | 5 | 10,722 | |
Mary by State
Birth registrations for Mary span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Pennsylvania, New York, Texas. The lowest are in Nevada, Alaska, Hawaii. On average, about 73,809 Marys were registered per state.
Mary + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Mary as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Mary
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
Mary: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mary?
We estimate approximately 1,492,757 people named Mary 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 230 Americans share this first name.
Is Mary a common name?
Mary is classified as "Very Common" and is more popular than 100% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 4,154,332 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Mary most popular?
Mary reached peak popularity in 1921, when 74,171 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Mary is approximately 65 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Mary a female name?
Mary is predominantly female. 99.6% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Mary Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Mary Smith, Mary Johnson, Mary 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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