Marigold
Torn between Marigold and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
golden flower
The story
Marigold once meant Mary's gold in English, a flower-name shaped by Christian devotion and a blaze of yellow or orange. Cross into Mexico, however, and the most important name is cempasúchil, from Nahuatl cempohualxochitl. During Día de Muertos, families use its color and scent on altars and scatter petals to mark a path for returning souls. Several Tagetes species participate in these traditions, and calling them all simply marigolds can hide the language and knowledge already attached to them. The given name Marigold does not claim that ritual as its origin. The meeting is valuable because it prevents one English label from seeming universal. A flower can be Mary's gold in one history and cempasúchil in another, with different stories held in its petals. Marigold therefore opens not onto one botanical meaning, but onto the many names people give what blooms beside them.
How popular is Marigold around the world?
In the United States, 2,121 babies were named Marigold between 2020 and 2025. In Canada, 41 girls named Marigold were born in 2024, the 708th most common name among girls that year.
Marigold is on the official records of the United States, Canada, England and Wales and South Australia.
United States
1 in 10,000
In the United States, 2,121 babies were named Marigold between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Marigold peaked in the 2020s. Marigold went to 67 US babies in 2015 and 498 in 2025, 7.4 times as many.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 8,900
In Canada, 41 girls named Marigold were born in 2024, the 708th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 18,000
In England and Wales, 33 girls named Marigold were born in 2025, ranked 1,028th among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 girl was registered as Marigold in 2017.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Austria
last on record 2023
Marigold is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
New Zealand
last on record 2022
Marigold is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Marigold
Most people given the name Marigold in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Marigold deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Marigold truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Marigold fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Marigold fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Marigold to your family’s tree →