Marilee
Feminine · “Mary" joined to a surname element”
Lee became a Southern middle name for a specific reason, and it is one of the most datable naming effects in American history. Robert E. Lee's surname entered general use as a given and middle name across the South after 1865, and the -lee compounds followed.
How old is the name Marilee?
Marilee first appears in US birth records in 1912 — 113 years ago. The typical Marilee alive today was born around 1953, making them about 72 years old. About 5,300 people named Marilee are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Marilee most popular?
Marilee peaked in 1942, reaching #535 nationally. Today it ranks #7885, 7,350 places below that high. See the whole 1942 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Mary to Marilee
The story of Marilee
The name Lee was in use before the Civil War, but its American career changes shape afterwards: the figures rise steeply from the late 1860s and stay high for a century, and the geographical concentration in the former Confederacy is pronounced. It became a standard middle name in the South and then a component in compound names, particularly for girls, where it pairs with almost anything — Marilee, Bettylee, Noralee, Sherilee. That is a naming effect with a person, a date and a region attached, which is rarer than it sounds. Marilee peaks in 1942.
Meaningscholars disagree
"Mary" joined to a surname element
Mary is from Hebrew Miryam, whose meaning is not established. Lee is an English surname from Old English lēah, a woodland clearing, and is used as a given and middle name for both sexes. Marilee is an American compound, one of a set including Bettylee, Noralee and Annalee. The compound has no meaning beyond its halves.
How the name formed
- Mary
- Lee
- Marilee
Related forms: Marilee · Marily
Pronouncing Marilee
MARR-uh-lee
Three syllables, stress on the first. Some families say marr-uh-LEE with the weight at the end, treating it as a compound; both are in use.
Nicknames for Marilee
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
- 1912
- Most girls named
- 1955214 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #535reached in 1942
- Change vs 2023
- −13.3%13 in 2025, from 15
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.
Marilee in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Marilee in English — same name
- Marily in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California.
Marilees among us
people named Marilee are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 123,636 born in 2025 was named Marilee
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Marilee
- #7885
- Marilee on the 2025 chart
- #938
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Marilee went to 13 girls in 2025, but Marylee is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 22, which makes it the 938th most-given girls’ name of the year — 6,947 places above the chart.
- Marilee13
- Marylee9
About 1 girl in 73,058 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 123,636 for Marilee itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Marcelle test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Marilee's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Marcelle climbed just as high around 1920, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Marcelle's path sketches the road Marilee is walking now.
Marilee sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Marilee beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Marilee in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Mari and Lee are ready short forms that stand alone.
- It is read correctly on sight by English speakers.
- It reflects a documented American naming practice.
- The stress placement varies between families.
- Marilee, Marilee and Marylee compete as spellings.
- The 1940s peak dates a bearer strongly.
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What they receive
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Marilee
Feminine · #7885 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Marilees are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 5,300 people named Marilee are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Marilee?
- Marilee is the most-used spelling in US records — 13 of the 22 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Marylee.
- How popular is the name Marilee in 2025?
- Marilee ranks #7885 among US girl names in 2025, with 13 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Marilee?
- About 1 in every 123,636 US girls born in 2025 was named Marilee — 13 in all.
- Will my child share the name Marilee with classmates?
- Marilee will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Marilee
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ola#7885 · Loula#7885 · Consuelo#7885 · Santa#7885 · Florentina#7885 · Marty#7885 · Jaye#7885 · Dollie#7885
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Marilee? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Marilee and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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