Girl · English (modern coinage)
Marla
Say it: MAR-luh
Meaning
A 20th-century American name, probably formed from Marlene or Marlo; no established older meaning.
Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.
Most used in the US from the 1950s to the 1970s.
Its wave through time
A fashion of the 1950s
In the United States
- 38,399 babies given this name since 1912
- At its height in 1955, about 1 in 1,100 girls
- 67 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- Modern use, as a recently created name
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.