boy's name
Marshall
MAR-shul
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 8
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 105,450
the United States
#340
2025 births
Marshall began as a stable hand — the word meant a horse servant, and it climbed to become the highest rank in several armies. Few job titles have traveled that far in either direction.
- Marshall is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1947, when 1,283 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 3,393 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Marshall over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 804 |
| 1890s | 916 |
| 1900s | 1,135 |
| 1910s | 5,627 |
| 1920s | 8,138 |
| 1930s | 7,244 |
| 1940s | 10,368 |
| 1950s | 10,870 |
| 1960s | 7,985 |
| 1970s | 6,928 |
| 1980s | 8,092 |
| 1990s | 8,368 |
| 2000s | 7,397 |
| 2010s | 9,524 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 5,208 |
What Marshall means
Marshall means a keeper of horses, or horse servant. The Germanic joins a word for a horse to one meaning a servant, so the original sense is a groom rather than a commander.
Where Marshall comes from
Marshall is the Germanic marhskalk — marah, a horse, joined to skalk, a servant. In a society where cavalry decided battles the man who managed the horses became indispensable, and the title climbed steadily: from groom, to officer of the royal household, to Marshal of France and Field Marshal. The American sense of a law officer took the same word by a different route. The mare in the first element survives as the English word for a female horse.
Marshall in use
Marshall peaked in the United States in 1947, when 1,283 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 340th in the United States on 977 births, 505th in England and Wales on 77, 709th in Scotland on 4 and 6377th in France, across 105,450 lifetime births in five of the seven markets we track.
How popular is Marshall?
In 2025, Marshall was given to 977 babies in the United States, ranking #340 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Marshall is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Marshall
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Marshall also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Marshall over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Marshall
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Marshall in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Marshal
Sibling names for Marshall
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Marshall — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Marshall
What does the name Marshall mean?
A keeper of horses — the Germanic marah, a horse, joined to skalk, a servant.
How did a stable hand become a Field Marshal?
Cavalry decided battles, so the man managing the horses became indispensable and the title rose with him.
Is the word mare related?
Yes — the same first element, surviving as the English word for a female horse.
How popular is Marshall?
340th in the United States, and our data marks it stable.
Is Marshall a girl's or a boy's name?
Marshall is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Marshall?
Marshall has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Marshall?
Marshall is usually shortened to Marsh.
Is Marshall a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Marshall currently ranks #340 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.