Diminutive of Mary or variant of Amarilla; associated with the literary character in Anne of Green Gables.
Marilla is most likely a diminutive elaboration of Maria, the Latinate form of the Hebrew Miriam, whose meaning has been debated for centuries — proposals include "beloved," "bitter," and "drop of the sea." Some scholars also connect Marilla to the Latin marinus, relating it to the sea, giving the name an optional maritime resonance. Whatever its precise etymology, Marilla has the feel of a name shaped by ear as much as by scholarship: it flows with a natural grace that made it appealing to parents in the Victorian and Edwardian eras who wanted something softer and more elaborated than plain Mary.
M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, published in 1908. Montgomery's Marilla is a study in the name's character — practical, self-contained, quietly fierce, with reserves of tenderness she rarely displays openly.
This portrayal has given the name a specific emotional coloring for generations of readers: Marilla suggests someone who does not waste sentiment but does not lack it. It is a name for a woman of the land, of routines and principles, whose love expresses itself through actions rather than declarations. Historically, Marilla saw its greatest American usage in the 19th century, with records showing particular popularity in New England and upstate New York.
It declined through the 20th century as plainer names like Mary and later Maria reasserted themselves. The Anne of Green Gables revival in popular culture — through stage adaptations, the Netflix series Anne with an E, and enduring readership — has reintroduced Marilla to parents looking for a name that is literary, distinctive, and rooted in a specific kind of quiet moral seriousness.