Marian

“Variant of Marion — Bitter; or possibly rebellion/disobedience (debated Hebrew roots)” — Hebrew (via Aramaic) origin

Girl's name · #1103 in the US (2025) · Heirloom

Marian belongs to an older America first — it reached #64 back in 1924 — yet it still appears in today's records at #1103. About 142,000 girls have carried it since 1880. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records. Marnie is a short form of Marian.

Around the world: about 1 in 16,000 girls in Canada (2024).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 17 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Marians

Marian Anderson — African-American contralto (1897–1993)
Marian Seldes — American stage, film, radio, and television actress (1928–2014)
Marian Keyes — Irish writer
Marian Rivera — Spanish-Filipino model and actress
Marian McPartland — British pianist, composer, writer and radio host (1918–2013)

In stories & tradition

Maid Marian — Robin Hood
Marian — River City Girls 2 · Double Dragon IV
Marian Halcombe — The Woman in White

What Marians become

Among 2,618 notable people named Marian:

Scientists & scholars appear 1.36× more often than among typical names — e.g. Marian Stamp Dawkins, British biologist.

Similar names: Maryann · Betty · Mariam · Sally · Ann · Mariel

Browse more girl names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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