The name Marge is of English origin and it means "border" or "edge". It is a short form of the name Margaret, which comes from the Latin word "margarita", meaning "pearl".
Marge has been used as a given name since the Middle Ages, but it was not particularly popular until the 20th century. In fact, according to data from the Social Security Administration in the United States, Marge was one of the top 1000 most popular girl names every year between 1935 and 1967.
Today, Marge is still a recognizable name but it is less commonly used than it once was. It may be that its popularity has declined due to its association with the character Marjorie "Marge" Simpson from the animated television show "The Simpsons", who is portrayed as being somewhat eccentric and older than her family members.
Despite this, Marge remains a classic name with a strong meaning behind it. It is often associated with strength and resilience, perhaps because of its connection to the Latin word for pearl, which is believed to represent purity and beauty.
The statistics provided show the annual number of births with the name Marge in the United States from 1889 to 1976. During this period, there was a significant increase in the popularity of the name Marge, reaching its peak between the early 1900s and the late 1920s.
From 1889 to 1903, there were fewer than 15 births with the name Marge each year. However, starting from 1904, the number of births began to rise, reaching a peak of 100 births in 1924. This trend continued throughout the late 1920s and early 1930s, with over 70 births per year.
The popularity of the name Marge started to decline after the mid-1930s. Between 1935 and 1946, there were between 48 and 101 births each year. However, from 1947 onwards, the number of births with the name Marge dropped significantly, with fewer than 40 births per year until 1976.
In total, over the span of 88 years (from 1889 to 1976), there were 3,784 babies named Marge born in the United States. This shows that while the name Marge was once quite popular, its popularity has declined significantly over time. Despite this decline, it remains a distinctive and historic name with a significant number of bearers throughout American history.
It's interesting to note that the popularity of the name Marge seems to have been influenced by various factors such as cultural trends, generational preferences, and even historical events like wars or economic changes. This data serves as a snapshot of the naming practices in the United States over almost a century ago.