Meaning & origin
A reliable meaning for Marilene isn’t established in our sources yet. Rather than guess, we show what is recorded: how the name is used, how often, and the names it’s connected to.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1919. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Marilene through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 143
- 0 boys · 143 girls
- Most popular year
- 1936
- 11 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 6 in 1964. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 11 in 1936. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 604 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Marilene’s family of names
Marilene has a related form in Marilyn.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Marilene, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Marylyn
In English use, Marylyn is used as a spelling variant of Marilyn.
>99% girls
Marine
“woman of the sea”
>99% girls
Marlene
Marlene is a feminine given name from German. It is used in English, Spanish, German, Swedish, and 1 other language.
>99% girls
Marylee
“star of the sea” · “from the sea of bitterness”
>99% girls
Harlene
“from the meadow of the hares”
>99% girls
Marlyn
“resembling a little hawk”
4% boys · 96% girls
Maxie
“the greatest”
22% boys · 78% girls
Rosalene
>99% girls