How many Marlyss are there in the world?

No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,300 people named Marlys are estimated to be alive in the US today.

How popular is the name Marlys in 2025?

Marlys is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.

Will my child share the name Marlys with classmates?

Marlys will almost certainly be the only one in school.

Marlys

Feminine

Marlys is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 8,958 girls against 5 boys since 1880.

Rare todaygiven to only a few children a year

rare

Marlys is an American compound — Mary joined to a -lys ending — and it is strongest in the Upper Midwest, where Scandinavian and German families built names this way.

How old is the name Marlys?

Marlys first appears in US birth records in 1910 — 115 years ago. The typical Marlys alive today was born around 1939, making them about 86 years old. About 4,300 people named Marlys are estimated to be alive in the US today.

When was the name Marlys most popular?

Marlys peaked in 1936, reaching #323 nationally. See the whole 1936 chart.

Compare this name More “M” names

Lists built from the same records:

Where it comes from

From Mary to Marlys

The story of Marlys

American naming of the 1930s and 1940s built compounds freely on Mar- — Marlene, Marlys, Marlyn, Marvis — and the practice was especially strong in Minnesota and the Dakotas. Marlys appears in the registers from the 1920s, is markedly concentrated in the Upper Midwest, and peaked around 1943.

Meaningscholars disagree

Not established

Generally read as a blend of Mary and a second element: Lois, Alice, or the -lyn/-lys endings then in fashion. Mary's own origin is unrecovered — proposals include the Egyptian mry, 'beloved', and Hebrew readings meaning 'bitter' or 'rebellious'. Nothing about the compound is documented.

How the name formed

Mary
Marlys

Related forms: Marlyss · Marlis · Marlies

Pronouncing Marlys

MAR-lis

Two syllables, stress on the first. Marlys, Marlis and Marlies are said identically.

Nicknames for Marlys

Moderate

MarThe front clipping, used inside families rather than generally

LysThe back of the name, which is also the French word for a lily

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: 1910
Most girls named: 1936367 — the highest on record
Peak rank: #323reached in 1936
Change vs 2020: 0.0%5 in 2022, from 5

Marlys sits in the rare tail. Its best year on record was 1936, with 367 girls. Today it is given to few enough children that it does not enter the ranked charts at all.

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.

Marlys in other languages

The same name elsewhere

Marlyss in English — spelling variant
Marlis in English — spelling variant
Marlies in German — related form

Marlyss among us

4,300

people named Marlys are estimated to be alive in the US today

Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method

III

Is it right for you

Questions parents actually ask

Fashion outlook

Marlys 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

Practical strengths

The German Marlies is a genuine and living cousin.
It records a real and geographically specific American naming practice.
Two firm syllables that carry well.

What to consider

The second element is genuinely unrecovered.
It will be respelled by other people constantly.
It is strongly period-coded to the 1940s and to one region.

Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Marlys to the vote.

Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.

Start a family vote Swipe together

Only the people you invite can see your list.

Already decided on Marlys? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.

Or just send this page to someone:

WhatsApp Pinterest Facebook

What they receive

Someone added a name to your list

Marlys

Feminine

♥ Love itNot for meLet’s talk about it

Add a note — what do you like about it?

Your shared list is empty. Marlys would be the first name on it.

Frequently asked

How many Marlyss are there in the world?: No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,300 people named Marlys are estimated to be alive in the US today.
How popular is the name Marlys in 2025?: Marlys is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
Will my child share the name Marlys with classmates?: Marlys 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 Marlys? See the current top 100.

Choosing between Marlys and another name?

See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.

Compare side by side

In a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.

Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.

Cast your vote

Which one would you pick?

Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.

US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology

No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle