Marlin is a boy name with a classic feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Marlin means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Marlin across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Marlin has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Marlin is a boy name of Old English origin meaning “little hawk, or from the sea fort”. A variant of Marlon or Merlin, also the name of a fish.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 22,834 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 27 births |
Counts come from official national birth-registration statistics: U.S. Social Security Administration, England & Wales (Office for National Statistics), Scotland (National Records of Scotland), Northern Ireland (NISRA), Ireland (Central Statistics Office) and New Zealand (Dept. of Internal Affairs). Coverage spans differ, so totals aren't directly comparable across countries.
Babies named Marlin per year, United States (1884 to 2025). United States peaked in 1935 (400/yr) · England & Wales peaked in 2014 (5/yr).
Marlin has been a fairly common baby name in the United States. It was most common in 1935, when it ranked #576 nationally (given to 400 babies that year).
Marilyn · Marlene · Marlon · Merlin · Marlyn · Marilynn · Marylyn · Marlena
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