UK name, mostly girls
Marlee
A feminine name of English origin meaning "bitter or sorrowful".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Also recorded as a boys' name in the UK, with 121 boys.
Marlee is mostly registered for girls in the UK records. People looking for Marlee popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #1743, with 17 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2021, with 29 births.
This profile covers 364 England and Wales registrations across 24 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 59% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 366 living people in the UK are called Marlee. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Marlee ranked #1743 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 17 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2021, when 29 girls were registered as Marlee.
- • Marlee ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #353 in 2016.
- • Marlee is also recorded for boys, but the girls side is the larger UK variant in these records.
- • About 366 living people in the UK are estimated to have Marlee as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
- • Across the England and Wales records shown here, 75.1% of Marlee registrations are for girls.
Latest rank (E&W)
#1743
2024
Births in 2024
17
Latest year
Peak year
2021
29 births
Estimated living
366
2026
Gender
Boy and girl registrations for Marlee
In England and Wales birth records, Marlee has been registered for both boys and girls. Across the years shown here, 24.9% of registrations are for boys and 75.1% are for girls.
These figures use the sex categories in the published baby-name files. They are useful for spotting how the name is used at registration, but they are not a live measure of gender identity or everyone living with the name today.
Marlee registered for boys
- Ranked #4,270 in 2024
- 4 boys registered in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (9 births)
Marlee registered for girls
- Ranked #1,743 in 2024
- 17 girls registered in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (29 births)
Meaning
What does Marlee mean?
The name Marlee is a variant of the English name Marley, which is believed to be derived from the Old English place name "Mere Leagh," meaning "pool meadow." The name gained popularity during the Middle Ages and was particularly common in the northern counties of England.
The earliest recorded use of the name Marlee dates back to the late 16th century. One of the earliest documented bearers of the name was Marlee Winslow, an English landowner from Yorkshire who lived in the 1590s.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Marlee. In the 17th century, Marlee Pemberton (1624-1687) was a prominent Quaker minister and author from Lancashire, England. Her writings on religious tolerance and nonviolence were influential during the English Civil War period.
In the 19th century, Marlee Blackburn (1825-1901) was a British explorer and naturalist who led several expeditions to the Amazon rainforest. Her detailed accounts of the region's flora and fauna were widely published and contributed to the scientific understanding of the area.
Marlee Matlin (born 1965) is a renowned American actress and advocate for the Deaf community. In 1987, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the film "Children of a Lesser God," becoming the first Deaf performer to receive the prestigious honor.
Marlee Reid (1856-1932) was a Scottish artist known for her vibrant landscape paintings capturing the rugged beauty of the Scottish Highlands. Her works were exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy and are held in several museum collections.
The name Marlee has also been associated with various fictional characters over the years, further contributing to its recognition and popularity.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Marlee over time
The chart below compares boys and girls registered as Marlee in England and Wales, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Marlee, the clearest high point is 2021. The latest England and Wales figure is 17 births in 2024, compared with 29 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marlee by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Marlee was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #1468 | 112 | 5 |
| 2010s | #1629 | 191 | 10 |
| 2000s | #3098 | 56 | 8 |
| 1990s | #2683 | 5 | 1 |
Geography
Where Marlee is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Marlee. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Marlee ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #353 in 2016.
Across the UK
Marlee in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland (NISRA)
#353 in 2016
1 years of NISRA records, 4 total registered
Related
Names similar to Marlee
- Megan 70,884
- Mia 67,204
- Molly 47,734
- Millie 44,390
- Maisie 32,671
- Matilda 29,965
- Maya 26,445
- Madison 18,441
- Maria 17,304
- Mollie 15,914
- Martha 15,116
- Maddison 14,918
FAQ
Marlee: questions and answers
How popular is the name Marlee in the UK right now?
In 2024, Marlee was ranked #1743 for girls in England and Wales, with 17 births registered.
When was Marlee most popular?
The peak year on record was 2021, with 29 babies registered as Marlee in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Marlee?
A feminine name of English origin meaning "bitter or sorrowful".
How many people are called Marlee in the UK?
A total of 364 babies have been registered as Marlee across the 24 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here and 4 in Northern Ireland.
Where is Marlee most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Marlee ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #353 in 2016. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.