Marilyn is a 19th-century English blend of Mary + Lyn — combining the Hebrew Mary ("beloved") with the English suffix. Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) — born Norma Jeane Mortenson — the American actress and cultural icon whose 29 films grossed over $200 million in her lifetime; her image remains one of the most reproduced in the world. Marilyn vos Savant (born 1946) — listed in the Guinness Book of Records (1986-1989) for the highest recorded IQ; author of Parade magazine's Ask Marilyn column. Marilyn Manson is male; the name has been overwhelmingly feminine since the 1920s.
Subject of Joyce Carol Oates's Blonde (2000) and Andrew Dominik's Blonde (2022 film).
In Pythagorean numerology the letters of Marilyn reduce to 2, The Peacemaker. This is a traditional interpretive system, not a factual claim about the name.