Mariela
- Pronunciation
- [Ma-rie-la]
- Gender
- Female
- Meaning
- Beloved And Illuminated.
- Origin
- English
About the Name Mariela
Mariela is a graceful name in the wider Maria family, an affectionate elaboration often interpreted as "beloved and illuminated." It pairs the deep, ancient resonance of Mary-rooted names with a soft, flowing diminutive ending, giving it a tender, light-filled quality that has made it especially beloved in Spanish-speaking communities while traveling easily into wider English-language use.
The most notable bearer of the name is Mariela Griffor, a Chilean-American poet, publisher, and translator born on October 29, 1961, in Concepción, Chile, who came of age during the early years of the Pinochet dictatorship that followed the 1973 military coup. Her work lends the name a quiet literary and bicultural distinction, an association of artistry and resilience.
Mariela first entered the US Social Security top-1000 in 2000, reached its best rank of #585 in 2004, and remained in the rankings through 2009, when it appeared at #979. Along the way it stood at #927 in 2008 and #780 in 2007, and in total it was given to roughly 3,689 girls. Recorded variants include Marella, Marilee, Marylee, and Marylu, offering a range of looks for a name built on warmth and light — from the lyrical to the softly old-fashioned, each keeping the same tender, illuminated spirit at its center.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration name data, 1880–2024 (methodology). By Marvin Tang.
Quick Facts About Mariela
US Popularity History (2000–2009)
Annual US births named Mariela by gender, from US Social Security Administration records. Peak year: 2004 with 481 girls named Mariela (girl rank #585 that year).
Where it stands today: in 2009, ranked #979 for girls (272 US births). That's 394 places below its 2004 peak.
Source: US Social Security Administration. Limitations: US birth-certificate data only; names appearing fewer than 5 times in a given year are suppressed for privacy; spelling variants are counted separately. For names that ranked outside the US top 100 before year 2000, only the years they reached the top 100 are shown — the chart may have gaps for less-popular historical names.
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Variant Forms
| Name | Meaning | Gender | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marella | Shining Sea. Variant Of Muriel. | Female | Irish |
| Marilee | Bitterness | Female | Greek |
| Marylee | Female | English | |
| Marylu | Derived From Mary Bitter. Mary Was The Biblical Mother Of Christ. Names Like Dolores And Mercedes Have Been Created To Express Aspects Of Mary's Life And Worship. | Male | English |
Famous People Named Mariela
1 notable figure from history and culture who share the name Mariela.
- Mariela Griffor is a Chilean poet, publisher and diplomat.
Looking for names like Mariela?
A dedicated page with 60+ related names — spelling variants, rhymes, alliterations, same-origin matches, and shared meaning concepts — lives at its own URL so each kind of similarity gets a deeper treatment than fits here.
Compare Mariela to Other Popular Names
Side-by-side popularity charts and crossover years for Mariela against today's most popular girls-name peers (top 8 by US births in the last 10 years of SSA records).