Marilynne

Meaning of Marilynne

Marilynne serves as a feminine English given name whose etymology reflects the concatenation of the Hebrew Miriam (through its medieval English form Mary) with the Old English or Welsh–derived element Lynn, the terminal consonant doubling (-nne) representing a 20th-century orthographic adaptation. Phonetically, it is transcribed as /mɑɪˈrəlɪn/ in American English and as /mɑɪˈrɪn/ in British English. Analysis of New York State vital‐records data reveals its initial appearance in 1926 with six occurrences (ranked 222), followed by intermittent use in the 1940s—peaking at six annual registrations and a rank between 248 and 259 during 1946–1949—before receding into relative obscurity. Cultural associations encompass the mid-century Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe, whose prominence spurred various spellings of “Marilyn,” and the Pulitzer-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson, whose literary acclaim has reinforced the name’s stature within Anglo-American cultural discourse.