77%RatingSave Gender Feminine & Masculine Usage English (Modern) Pronounced Pron. MAHR-lee [key·IPA] Meaning & History From an English surname that was taken from a place name meaning either "pleasant wood", "boundary wood" or "marten wood" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the Jamaican musician Bob Marley (1945-1981). Related NamesFamily Tree·Details VariantsMarlee, Marly PopularityDetails Last ranked #129 in 2021 (m) #348 in 2021 (f) England and Wales Last ranked #255 in 2022 France Last ranked #180 in 2023 (f) #498 in 2022 (m) Netherlands Last ranked #95 in 2023 New Zealand Last ranked #277 in 2022 (f) #938 in 2020 (m) United States People think this name isRate·Details youthful informal natural wholesome strong strange Categories animals, boundaries, derived from a surname, feelings, happiness, isograms, modern English, nature, pet names, Pokemon characters, surnames, trees, trendy