seven reflections
Login
Marlow Name Meaning, Origins & History

Marlow

Pronunciation: MAR-loh

Meaning From the hill near the lake Origin Old English Gender Unisex
GIRLS RANK
#1,167
TREND
152
BOYS RANK
#2,323
TREND
167
Peak Years
2025, 2021, 2023
Lowest Years
1910, 1991, 1921
Energy Archetype
Hardworking & Dutiful

Rank shows the name’s position among U.S. baby names for each gender in 2025. Trend shows how many places it rose or fell since 2024. Rank 1 is the most popular. Based on U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) data. Peak and lowest years are based on the number of boys named Marlow in the available records.

Fun Facts About the Name Marlow

  • More than 4 thousand babies named Marlow: U.S. records list 4,096 babies given the name Marlow from 1880 through 2025. Of these, 1,903 girls received the name Marlow.

What Does the Name Marlow Mean?

Marlow is an English habitational name, taken from the place now called Great Marlow, with the neighboring Little Marlow, in Buckinghamshire. The usual explanation derives it from Old English mere, "lake" or "pool," plus lāf, "leavings, remnant," so that it means roughly "remnant of a lake" - ground left behind by a drained or shrunken body of water. A competing explanation reads the second element as Old English hlāw, "hill, mound," which would give "hill by the lake." Surviving medieval spellings point in both directions, and the second element is therefore not fully settled.

Marlow Name History & Origins

The place name appears in medieval records as Merelafan, with later forms such as Merelawe. That variation is the basis of the disagreement over the second element: the -f- form fits Old English lāf ("remnant"), while the -w- form fits Old English hlāw ("hill, mound"). Great Marlow and Little Marlow are old parishes on the River Thames, and the surname that grew from the place spread well beyond Buckinghamshire during the Middle Ages.

By the modern period the surname was also being used as a given name in the English-speaking world, particularly in Britain and North America. As a first name it is best understood as a transferred use of the surname rather than as a separate coinage with its own root.

The spelling Marlowe is a common variant of the surname and is also used as a given name; it is the spelling borne by the Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe. A separate literary association belongs to Charles Marlow, the seafaring narrator of Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim and Heart of Darkness, who carries the name as a surname.

How Popular is the Name Marlow?

Marlow has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2025. Its best rank was #1,167 in 2025.

U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.

Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.

Explore More Lists with Name Marlow

Most Popular Boy Names That Start with M

See List of Most Popular Boy Names Starting with M

How the Name Marlow Shapes Your Personality and Life?

You have psychic power. You can carry on for others with joy. You have a receptive nature and may bear burdens for others. You are pragmatic, thorough, strong-willed, practical and stubborn at times. You are hard working, often martyr to duty. You like home and security above all. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.

You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.

✦ Marlow's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Marlow's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.
Explore Insights & Tips

Name Search