Mariette
Feminine · “little Marie”
Mariette is a French diminutive of Marie, and it is also the surname of the man who invented the story of Aida. Auguste Mariette dug up half of ancient Egypt, founded the museum that still holds it, and then wrote the scenario for one of the most performed operas in the world — which is an unusual second career for an archaeologist.
How old is the name Mariette?
Mariette first appears in US birth records in 1887 — 138 years ago. The typical Mariette alive today was born around 1953, making them about 72 years old. About 600 people named Mariette are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Mariette most popular?
Mariette peaked in 1887, reaching #1147 nationally. See the whole 1887 chart.
Where it comes from
From Marie, the French form of Mary to Mariette
The story of Mariette
Mariette went to Egypt to buy manuscripts, spent the money on excavation instead, and uncovered the avenue of sphinxes and the Serapeum at Saqqara with its granite sarcophagi for sacred bulls. He then did something more consequential: he persuaded the Egyptian government to stop the export of antiquities and set up a service to control excavation, which is the reason a great deal of what he found is still in Cairo. The opera came later. He was asked for a story with an Egyptian setting, produced one, and the piece is regularly said to have opened the Suez Canal, which it did not — it premiered two years afterwards.
Meaning
little Marie
The front is the French form of Mary, whose own meaning has been argued about for two thousand years without resolution, and the ending is the French diminutive. Names of this shape were made freely in French and then borrowed into English and American use as independent names, which is why Mariette, Juliette, Lisette and Ninette all appear in American records without any of the longer names they were built from.
How the name formed
- Marie, the French form of Mary
- the French diminutive ending produces Mariette
- the form is borrowed into English as an independent name
- an archaeologist makes the surname famous
- used in American records from the 1880s
Related forms: Mariette · Marietta · Mariechen
Pronouncing Mariette
mah-ree-ET
Three syllables with the stress at the back, following the French ending. Americans often give it four, mar-ee-ET-uh, which is really Marietta wearing the other spelling.
Nicknames for Mariette
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1887
- Most girls named
- 194719 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1147reached in 1887
- Change vs 2016
- +16.7%7 in 2023, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Mariette in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Mariette in French — same name
- Marietta in Italian — same name
- Mariechen in German — related form
Mariettes among us
people named Mariette are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Mariette sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Mari and Etta are both available and both stand alone as names.
- It is elegant without being difficult for an English speaker to say.
- It carries a very old name in a form that has never been overused.
- Marietta is commoner in America and will be substituted in speech and writing.
- The French stress at the back is regularly moved by English speakers.
- It belongs to the oldest layer of the American record and has had no revival.
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Mariette
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Mariettes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Mariette are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Mariette in 2025?
- Mariette is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Mariette with classmates?
- Mariette will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More M names
The most-given names starting with M, all years combined.
Mary#125 · Margaret#112 · Michelle#465 · Melissa#419 · Maria#87 · Martha#712 · Marie#617 · Mildred#1962
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Mariette? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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