Macel
A masculine given name with uncertain origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 81 living Americans carry the first name Macel. It is a predominantly female name (99.4% of registrations). The average person named Macel today is around 85 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Macel births was 1917 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Macel. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Macel is about 85 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Macels were born before 1951.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Macel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
81
~ 1 in 4,231,535 Americans
Peak year
1917
37 babies that year
Average age
85
years old
1928 SSA rank
#4,506
Tracked since 1900
Census
Macel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 248 people with the first name Macel, which placed it at #33,395 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
#33,395
National first-name rank
People counted
248
248 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
81.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Macel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Macel is White at 81.5%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Hispanic (4.4%). 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 Macel 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 Macel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.5% · 202
- Black or African American7.7% · 19
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 11
- Two or more races4.4% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Macel
Out of the 826 babies given the name Macel since 1880, 99.4% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Macel as a male name
- Ranked #4,506 in 1928
- 5 male births in 1928
- Peak: 1928 (5 births)
Macel as a female name
- Ranked #5,969 in 1959
- 6 female births in 1959
- Peak: 1917 (37 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Macel leans strongly female. 211 people counted with this name were female (84.1%), compared with 40 male bearers (15.9%).
Popularity
Macel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Macel from the 1900s through to the 1950s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 270 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Macel 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 Macel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Macels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. West Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas recorded the most babies named Macel, while Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 77 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Macel
The given name Macel has its roots in ancient Celtic languages, with its earliest known origins dating back to the 5th century CE in regions that are now parts of modern-day France and Britain. The name is derived from the Celtic word "macal," which translates to "son of the chieftain" or "prince."
During the Middle Ages, the name Macel gained popularity among the noble classes of Europe, particularly in regions with strong Celtic cultural influences. It was often used to signify a person's noble lineage or connection to royalty.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Macel can be found in the Annales Cambriae, a medieval chronicle detailing the history of Wales. The text mentions a Prince Macel ap Rhodri, who ruled over the Welsh kingdom of Gwynedd in the 9th century CE.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Macel. In the 11th century, Macel of Brittany (1058-1109) was a prominent Norman nobleman and military leader who played a significant role in the Norman conquest of England. Another Macel, known as Macel of Rouen (1120-1187), was a renowned French architect who oversaw the construction of several notable ecclesiastical buildings, including parts of the Rouen Cathedral.
In the 13th century, Macel de Corail (1215-1273) was a French troubadour and poet whose works were highly influential in the development of Occitan literature. A century later, Macel of Burgundy (1365-1419) was a respected military commander who fought in the Hundred Years' War against the English.
The name Macel also appeared in religious texts and chronicles, further solidifying its historical significance. The Annals of Ulster, an Irish chronicle, mentions a Macel Ua Lochlainn, who was the King of Cenél nEógain (a medieval Irish kingdom) in the 12th century.
While the name Macel has largely fallen out of common usage in modern times, it remains an important part of linguistic and cultural history, reflecting the rich tapestry of Celtic heritage and its enduring influence on European societies.
People
Macel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Macel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Macel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Macel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 81 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Macel 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 4,231,535 US residents.
Is Macel a common name?
We classify Macel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 826 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Macel most popular?
The single biggest year for Macel was 1917, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Macel is about 85 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Macel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 248 people with the name Macel, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,395 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 Macel 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 Macel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Macel leans strongly female. 211 people counted with this name were female (84.1%), compared with 40 male bearers (15.9%). 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 Macel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Macel is White at 81.5%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Hispanic (4.4%). 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 Macel most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Macel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.5% (202 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 Macel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Macel a female name?
Yes, 99.4% of people registered as Macel in the SSA data are female. 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 Macel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Macel 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 Macel 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 many people share the name Macel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.