Marlowe
- Gender
- Unisex
- Say it
- MAR-loh
- Origin
- English
- UK rank, 2025
- #541 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #523 for girls
Unisex
Marlowe is a name of English origin, meaning “land left by a drained lake”. In 2025 it ranked 541st for girls in the UK (80 babies) and 523rd for girls in the US (575 babies).
What does Marlowe mean?
English: surname from the place name Marlow
“land left by a drained lake”
Surname borne by playwright Christopher Marlowe and by Raymond Chandler's detective Philip Marlowe.
Is Marlowe a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Marlowe has been given to both girls and boys. In 2025, it was given to 80 girls and 28 boys in the UK and 575 girls and 36 boys in the US.
How popular is Marlowe in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #541among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 80about 1 in 3,500 girls
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 44% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 80 girls in the UK were named Marlowe, making it the 541st most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 828th. 28 boys were also named Marlowe in 2025 (1,133rd for boys).
2025 had the most girls named Marlowe of any year since it first appeared, in 2013.
Half of all the girls named Marlowe in the UK since 1996 were born between 2018 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 102 girls in the UK were given Marlowe or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #430, up from #541 for this spelling alone.
In 2013, 41% of the babies named Marlowe in the UK were girls. By 2025 it was 74%, with more girls than boys since 2015.
Among girls in 2025, it was 585th in England and Wales, 324th in Scotland and 397th in Northern Ireland.
Marlowe in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 80 | #541 |
| 2024 | 71 | #595 |
| 2023 | 65 | #623 |
| 2022 | 69 | #607 |
| 2021 | 78 | #563 |
| 2020 | 47 | #828 |
| 2019 | 56 | #753 |
| 2018 | 47 | #860 |
| 2017 | 35 | #1,079 |
| 2016 | 29 | #1,243 |
| 2015 | 31 | #1,193 |
| 2014 | 15 | #1,976 |
| 2013 | 7 | #3,338 |
How popular is Marlowe in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #523among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 575about 1 in 2,800 girls
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 80% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 575 girls in the US were named Marlowe, making it the 523rd most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 924th. It first appears in the records in 1918. 36 boys were also named Marlowe in 2025 (3,239th for boys).
2025 had the most girls named Marlowe of any year since it first appeared, in 1918.
Half of all the girls named Marlowe in the US since 1880 were born between 2014 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 893 girls in the US were given Marlowe or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #369, up from #523 for this spelling alone.
In 1970, 33% of the babies named Marlowe in the US were girls. By 2025 it was 94%, with more girls than boys since 2006.
Marlowe in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 575 | #523 |
| 2024 | 478 | #624 |
| 2023 | 328 | #835 |
| 2022 | 365 | #779 |
| 2021 | 302 | #896 |
| 2020 | 279 | #924 |
| 2019 | 243 | #1,054 |
| 2018 | 246 | #1,044 |
| 2017 | 264 | #985 |
| 2016 | 256 | #1,034 |
| 2015 | 222 | #1,139 |
| 2014 | 206 | #1,186 |
| 2013 | 185 | #1,277 |
| 2012 | 102 | #1,929 |
| 2011 | 84 | #2,238 |
| 2010 | 64 | #2,751 |
| 2009 | 86 | #2,270 |
| 2008 | 41 | #3,858 |
| 2007 | 28 | #5,095 |
| 2006 | 19 | #6,590 |
| 2005 | 18 | #6,523 |
| 2004 | 10 | #9,887 |
| 2003 | 9 | #10,420 |
| 2002 | 15 | #7,039 |
| 2001 | 9 | #10,095 |
| 2000 | 15 | #6,802 |
| 1999 | 12 | #7,710 |
| 1998 | 12 | #7,527 |
| 1997 | 6 | #12,065 |
| 1996 | 6 | #11,801 |
| 1995 | 0 | – |
| 1994 | 10 | #8,116 |
| 1993 | 5 | #13,435 |
| 1992 | 11 | #7,504 |
| 1991 | 6 | #11,501 |
| 1990 | 9 | #8,495 |
| 1989 | 15 | #5,539 |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 9 | #7,348 |
| 1986 | 0 | – |
| 1985 | 6 | #9,304 |
| 1984 | 9 | #6,808 |
| 1983 | 10 | #6,210 |
| 1982 | 7 | #8,222 |
| 1981 | 5 | #10,409 |
| 1980 | 7 | #8,177 |
| 1979 | 8 | #7,311 |
| 1978 | 6 | #8,560 |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 0 | – |
| 1974 | 8 | #6,257 |
| 1973 | 12 | #4,585 |
| 1972 | 10 | #5,108 |
| 1971 | 12 | #4,532 |
| 1970 | 12 | #4,491 |
| 1969 | 9 | #5,056 |
| 1968 | 10 | #4,488 |
| 1967 | 11 | #4,052 |
| 1966 | 0 | – |
| 1965 | 0 | – |
| 1964 | 0 | – |
| 1963 | 0 | – |
| 1962 | 0 | – |
| 1961 | 5 | #6,566 |
| 1960 | 0 | – |
| 1959 | 0 | – |
| 1958 | 0 | – |
| 1957 | 0 | – |
| 1956 | 0 | – |
| 1955 | 0 | – |
| 1954 | 0 | – |
| 1953 | 0 | – |
| 1952 | 0 | – |
| 1951 | 0 | – |
| 1950 | 6 | #4,736 |
| 1949 | 5 | #5,243 |
| 1948 | 0 | – |
| 1947 | 5 | #5,293 |
| 1946 | 0 | – |
| 1945 | 5 | #4,554 |
| 1944 | 0 | – |
| 1943 | 6 | #4,195 |
| 1942 | 5 | #4,620 |
| 1941 | 7 | #3,557 |
| 1940 | 5 | #4,347 |
| 1939 | 5 | #4,248 |
| 1938 | 0 | – |
| 1937 | 9 | #2,939 |
| 1936 | 0 | – |
| 1935 | 0 | – |
| 1934 | 7 | #3,447 |
| 1933 | 0 | – |
| 1932 | 7 | #3,566 |
| 1931 | 0 | – |
| 1930 | 5 | #4,548 |
| 1929 | 0 | – |
| 1928 | 5 | #4,723 |
| 1927 | 0 | – |
| 1926 | 0 | – |
| 1925 | 0 | – |
| 1924 | 7 | #4,000 |
| 1923 | 7 | #3,970 |
| 1922 | 0 | – |
| 1921 | 6 | #4,462 |
| 1920 | 0 | – |
| 1919 | 0 | – |
| 1918 | 6 | #4,289 |
Names like Marlowe
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Harper Esme Mila Willow Primrose Maisie Myla Maeve Freya Ivy Lyra Poppy
Other spellings of Marlowe
Names related to Marlowe
More English names
Lily Evelyn Hudson Grace Violet Daisy Riley Oakley Mason Cooper Ruby Hallie Hazel Carter Harrison River
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Marlowe: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/marlowe, updated 20 October 2026.