Demarcus
A masculine name derived from the prefix "de" and the name "Marcus".
Name Census estimates that about 13,214 living Americans carry the first name Demarcus. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Demarcus today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Demarcus births was 1991 (511 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Demarcus. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
13K
~ 1 in 25,939 Americans
Peak year
1991
511 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,151
Tracked since 1956
Census
Demarcus in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 9,569 people with the first name Demarcus, which placed it at #2,538 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#2,538
National first-name rank
People counted
9.6K
9,569 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
89.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Demarcus
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Demarcus is Black at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (3.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Demarcus described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Demarcus at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American89.3% · 8,544
- Two or more races4.9% · 467
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 314
- White1.7% · 167
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 61
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 16
Gender
Gender distribution for Demarcus
Out of the 13,581 babies given the name Demarcus since 1880, 99.8% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Demarcus as a male name
- Ranked #2,151 in 2024
- 68 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1991 (511 births)
Demarcus as a female name
- Ranked #12,887 in 1989
- 5 female births in 1989
- Peak: 1986 (10 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Demarcus appears almost entirely male. Of the 9,564 people counted with this name, 99.7% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Demarcus: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Demarcus from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 4,252 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Demarcus by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Demarcus during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Demarcus' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 29 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Demarcus, while New Jersey, Nebraska, Wisconsin recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 405 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Demarcus
The name Demarcus is a masculine given name of American origin, derived from the combination of the prefix "De-" and the name "Marcus." The prefix "De-" is believed to have its roots in the Latin language, often used to indicate descent or separation.
Marcus, on the other hand, is a Roman name that gained popularity during the Roman Republic and Empire. It is derived from the Roman god Mars, who was the god of war. The name Marcus was borne by several notable figures in Roman history, including Marcus Tullius Cicero, the famous orator and philosopher.
While the exact origins of the name Demarcus are not entirely clear, it is believed to have emerged as a variation of the name Marcus in the United States during the late 19th or early 20th century. The addition of the prefix "De-" may have been influenced by other similar names such as Demetrius or Demarco.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Demarcus dates back to the late 19th century. In 1880, Demarcus Pettus was born in Mississippi, United States. He went on to become a successful businessman and landowner in the early 20th century.
Another notable individual named Demarcus was Demarcus Robinson, an American football player who was born in 1994. He played as a wide receiver for various teams in the National Football League (NFL), including the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders.
In the realm of literature, Demarcus Calliet was an American author and educator born in 1964. He wrote several books on African American history and culture, including "The Autobiography of Zora Neale Hurston" and "The Collected Works of Langston Hughes."
Demarcus Ayers, born in 1992, is a professional basketball player who has played for various teams in the NBA G League and overseas. He is known for his impressive scoring abilities and was a standout player during his college career at the University of Houston.
Demarcus Ware, born in 1982, is a former American football player who played as a defensive end in the NFL. He was a nine-time Pro Bowl selection and was named to the NFL's All-Decade Team for the 2000s. Ware was known for his relentless pass-rushing abilities and is considered one of the best defensive players of his era.
People
Demarcus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Demarcus as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Demarcus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Demarcus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 13,214 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Demarcus going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 25,939 US residents.
Is Demarcus a common name?
We classify Demarcus as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 13,581 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Demarcus most popular?
The single biggest year for Demarcus was 1991, when 511 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Demarcus is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Demarcus in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 9,569 people with the name Demarcus, or 3.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,538 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Demarcus in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Demarcus?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Demarcus appears almost entirely male. Of the 9,564 people counted with this name, 99.7% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Demarcus?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Demarcus is Black at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (3.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Demarcus most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Demarcus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.3% (8,544 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Demarcus in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Demarcus a male name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Demarcus in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Demarcus still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Demarcus in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Demarcus can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Demarcus?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.