Marcellius
A masculine name of Latin origin, meaning "youthful" or "young warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 59 living Americans carry the first name Marcellius. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Marcellius today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marcellius births was 1996 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marcellius. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Marcellius. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
59
~ 1 in 5,809,396 Americans
Peak year
1996
7 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2008 SSA rank
#12,025
Tracked since 1974
Census
Marcellius in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 124 people with the first name Marcellius, which placed it at #49,647 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
#49,647
National first-name rank
People counted
124
124 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
74.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marcellius
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marcellius is Black at 74.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.7%) and Two or More Races (9.7%). 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 Marcellius 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 Marcellius at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American74.2% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino9.7% · 12
- Two or more races9.7% · 12
- White4.0% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 3
Popularity
Marcellius: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marcellius from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 22 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marcellius 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 Marcellius during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marcellius
The name Marcellius is derived from the ancient Roman name Marcellus, which has its origins in the Roman family name Marcelli. This family name is thought to be derived from the Latin word "marcere," meaning "to be withered" or "to be lean." The name Marcellus was a prominent one in ancient Rome and was borne by several notable figures in Roman history.
One of the earliest and most famous individuals to bear the name Marcellus was Marcus Claudius Marcellus, a Roman consul who lived from around 268 BC to 208 BC. He was a renowned military leader who played a significant role in the Second Punic War against Carthage and was responsible for the capture and sacking of the city of Syracuse.
Another notable figure with the name Marcellus was Claudius Marcellus, a Roman statesman and military leader who lived in the 1st century BC. He was a supporter of Julius Caesar and served as a consul in 50 BC. Marcellus was also a skilled orator and was known for his literary works.
In the 1st century AD, there was a prominent Roman general named Gnaeus Claudius Marcellus. He was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and served as a consul in 28 AD. Marcellus was known for his military campaigns in Pannonia and was praised for his valor and leadership skills.
In the 5th century, there was a Roman emperor named Marcellinus who ruled the Western Roman Empire for a brief period in 455 AD. Although his reign was short-lived, he is remembered for his efforts to maintain stability in the declining Western Roman Empire.
Another historical figure with the name Marcellius was Marcellius Empiricus, a Gallic physician and writer who lived in the 5th century AD. He is best known for his work "De Medicamentis," a medical treatise that provided valuable insights into the practice of medicine during that time period.
While the name Marcellius has its roots in ancient Rome, it has been used across various cultures and time periods. The name has been spelled in slightly different variations, such as Marcellus or Marcello, but the core meaning and origin remain the same. Despite its historical significance, the name Marcellius is relatively uncommon in modern times, but it continues to hold a place in historical records and literary works.
People
Marcellius + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marcellius 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
Marcellius: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marcellius?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 59 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marcellius 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 5,809,396 US residents.
Is Marcellius a common name?
We classify Marcellius as "Very Rare". It ranks above 56.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 61 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marcellius most popular?
The single biggest year for Marcellius was 1996, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marcellius is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marcellius in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 124 people with the name Marcellius, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #49,647 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 Marcellius 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 Marcellius?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marcellius appears almost entirely male. Of the 125 people counted with this name, 99.2% 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 Marcellius?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marcellius is Black at 74.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.7%) and Two or More Races (9.7%). 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 Marcellius most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Marcellius in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.2% (92 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 Marcellius in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marcellius a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marcellius 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 Marcellius still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marcellius 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 Marcellius 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 have Marcellius as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Marcellius on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.