Marcelus
A masculine given name derived from the Roman family name Marcellus.
Name Census estimates that about 300 living Americans carry the first name Marcelus. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Marcelus today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marcelus births was 1996 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marcelus. 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
300
~ 1 in 1,142,514 Americans
Peak year
1996
18 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,453
Tracked since 1970
Popularity
Marcelus: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marcelus from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 101 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Marcelus remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marcelus 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 Marcelus during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marcelus' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Marcelus
Marcelus is a masculine given name with its origins rooted in ancient Rome. It is derived from the Roman family name Marcellus, which is a diminutive form of the name Marcus. The name Marcus itself is believed to have its roots in the Oscan language, an ancient Italic language spoken in parts of southern Italy before the Roman conquest.
The name Marcellus gained prominence in the 3rd century BC when Marcus Claudius Marcellus, a renowned Roman consul and military commander, became a celebrated figure in Roman history. He was known for his victories against the Carthaginians during the Second Punic War and for his conquest of the city of Syracuse in Sicily.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Marcelus can be found in the writings of the ancient Roman historian Livy, who documented the life and achievements of Marcus Claudius Marcellus. This early historical reference helped solidify the name's association with Roman nobility and military prowess.
Over the centuries, several notable figures have borne the name Marcelus. One prominent example is Marcellus I, who served as Pope from 308 to 309 AD and is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. Another notable bearer of the name was Marcellus of Ancyra, a 4th-century bishop who played a significant role in the Arian controversy and the development of early Christian theology.
In the Renaissance period, Marcelus emerged as a popular name among Italian nobility. One of the most famous bearers of the name during this time was Marcellus II, who reigned as Pope for a brief period in 1555. Despite his short pontificate, he is remembered for his efforts to reform the Catholic Church.
Other noteworthy individuals named Marcelus include Marcelus Empiricus, a 4th-century physician and writer who authored a work on herbal remedies, and Marcelus Palingenius Stellatus, a 16th-century Italian poet and satirist known for his epic work "Zodiacus Vitae."
While the popularity of the name Marcelus has fluctuated over time, it has remained a part of the cultural and historical tapestry of various societies, carrying with it the echoes of its illustrious Roman origins and the legacy of notable individuals who have borne this name throughout the centuries.
People
Marcelus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marcelus 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
Marcelus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marcelus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 300 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marcelus 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 1,142,514 US residents.
Is Marcelus a common name?
We classify Marcelus as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 307 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marcelus most popular?
The single biggest year for Marcelus was 1996, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marcelus is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Marcelus a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marcelus 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.
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.