The
Marilyn classification was created by Alan Dawson in his 1992 book
The Relative Hills of Britain. The name was coined as a punning contrast to the
Munro classification of Scottish mountains above , which has no explicit prominence threshold, being
homophonous with
Monroe. The concept was later extended to Ireland by E. D. "Clem" Clements. Marilyns were the first of several British Isles classifications based solely on
topographic prominence, including the
P600s, the
HuMPs, and the
TuMPs. Determining prominence is more complex than measuring absolute elevation, requiring surveys of each contour line around a peak; therefore lists based on prominence are periodically revised. Although many of the largest mountains in the islands, such as
Ben Nevis,
Carrauntoohil,
Scafell Pike and
Snowdon, are Marilyns, others—including
Cairn Gorm and some Munros, as well as hills such as
Bowfell, the
Langdale Pikes and
Carnedd Dafydd—are not, as they lack sufficient relative height compared to nearby higher "parent" peaks. there were 2,010 Marilyns in the British Isles: 1,218 in Scotland (including 202 of the 282 Scottish Munros; Munros with Marilyn-prominence are sometimes called
Real Munros), 454 in Ireland, 174 in England, 159 in Wales and 5 in the Isle of Man. , 11
Marilynists had climbed all Marilyns then listed in Great Britain. , 275 had entered the
Marilyn Hall of Fame by climbing over 600 Marilyns. In June 2025 Dawson published
The Revised Relative Hills of Britain: The Marilyns (Pedantic Press, ), listing 1,550 Marilyns in Britain (excluding Ireland and the Isle of Man) and 99 hills that narrowly fail to qualify (
submarilyns). this list is used by the
Database of British and Irish Hills to define a
Marilyn, with a separate category for
The Irish and Manx Marilyns.
Examples of Marilyns Marilyns include some of the largest mountains in the British Isles as well as relatively modest hills: • Large mountains:
Ben Nevis (Scotland),
Carrauntoohil (Ireland),
Scafell Pike (England) and
Snowdon (Wales) are Marilyns because they meet the prominence criterion. • Peaks not qualifying as Marilyns:
Cairn Gorm and some Munros, as well as well-known hills such as
Bowfell, the
Langdale Pikes and
Carnedd Dafydd, lack sufficient prominence relative to nearby higher “parent” peaks. • Modest hills:
Crowborough () in East Sussex and
Bishop Wilton Wold (), the highest point of the Yorkshire Wolds, qualify as Marilyns despite their lower absolute heights. • Sea stacks:
Stac Lee () and
Stac an Armin (), in the
St Kilda archipelago, are the two tallest
sea stacks in the British Isles, west of the Scottish mainland. ==Coverage==