Marion
Masculine · “bitter”
Marion is given to both — 72,495 boys and 189,218 girls since 1880. See Marion as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Marion for a son is a French diminutive of Marie that crossed to men in America, largely as a surname carried forward — and its best-known bearer fought a guerrilla campaign in the Carolina swamps.
How old is the name Marion?
Marion was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Marion alive today was born around 1933, making them about 92 years old. About 23,500 people named Marion are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Marion most popular?
Marion peaked in 1880, reaching #80 nationally. Today it ranks #2480, 2,400 places below that high. See the whole 1880 chart.
Marion appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From Miryam to Marion
The story of Marion
French formed Marion from Marie in the Middle Ages, and it was a women's name for centuries. Its masculine American use came mainly through surnames: Francis Marion, the Revolutionary partisan commander known as the Swamp Fox, gave his family name to counties and towns across the South, and families named sons for him. Masculine Marion peaked in American records around 1919.
Meaningscholars disagree
bitter; beloved; sea
Through Marie and Maria, from the Hebrew Miryam, whose meaning is among the most argued-over in the field. 'Bitter', 'beloved', 'rebellious' and an Egyptian element meaning beloved have all been proposed, and none has won. The -on ending is a French diminutive and carries no meaning.
How the name formed
- Miryam
- Marie
- Marion
Related forms: Marion · Marian · Marion
Pronouncing Marion
MA-ree-un
Three syllables, stress on the first. Said identically whichever sex carries it.
Nicknames for Marion
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 19211,716 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #80reached in 1880
- Change vs 2022
- −11.5%54 in 2025, from 61
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.
Marion in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Marion in French — same name
- Marian in English — spelling variant
- Marion in German — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Georgia, Ohio, Florida.
Marions among us
people named Marion are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 31,631 born in 2025 was named Marion
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Marion 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
Where Marion is headed
Marion should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Marion beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Marion in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Mary stands behind it, the single most-used woman's name in European history.
- It carries a specific and traceable piece of American Revolutionary history.
- Three syllables with a front stress, which holds up against a short surname.
- In modern English the name reads as feminine to nearly everyone.
- Marian and Marion are both established and easily confused.
- It is strongly period-coded to the early twentieth century.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Marion to the vote.
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What they receive
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Marion
Masculine · #2480 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Marions are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 23,500 people named Marion are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Marion in 2025?
- Marion ranks #2480 among US boy names in 2025, with 54 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Marion?
- About 1 in every 31,631 US boys born in 2025 was named Marion — 54 in all.
- Will my child share the name Marion with classmates?
- Marion will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Marion
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Kaeson#2480 · Caine#2480 · Arya#2480 · Florian#2480 · Niles#2480 · Hardy#2480 · Demian#2480 · Mace#2480
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Marion? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Marion and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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