Marcelyn
A feminine name derived from Marcellus, meaning "young warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 283 living Americans carry the first name Marcelyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marcelyn today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marcelyn births was 1928 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marcelyn. 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 Marcelyn is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Marcelyns were born before 1969.
People living today
283
~ 1 in 1,211,146 Americans
Peak year
1928
33 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
2021 SSA rank
#16,805
Tracked since 1915
Popularity
Marcelyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marcelyn from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 169 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marcelyn 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 Marcelyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marcelyns live
Origin
Meaning and history of Marcelyn
The name Marcelyn is a variant of the French name Marceline, which is derived from the Roman name Marcellinus. Marcellinus is a diminutive form of the Latin name Marcellus, which is likely derived from the Roman gens (clan) name Marcius or the Latin word "marcere," meaning "to be withered or faded."
The name Marcellinus first appeared in historical records during the 3rd century AD, when it was borne by several early Christian martyrs, including Saint Marcellinus, who was Pope from 296 to 304 AD. It later became a popular name among early Christians and was widely used throughout the Roman Empire.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Marcelyn was Marcelyn of Rheims, a 6th-century French nun and abbess who founded the Abbey of Saint-Pierre-les-Dames in Rheims. She is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church.
In the 9th century, Marcelyn was the name of a Frankish noblewoman who was the wife of Count Rorico of Maine. She played a significant role in the political affairs of the region during the Carolingian dynasty.
During the Middle Ages, the name Marcelyn was also borne by Marcelyn of Avranches, a Norman nobleman and crusader who participated in the First Crusade in the late 11th century.
In the 13th century, Marcelyn de Aragon was a Spanish noble and courtier who served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Violante of Aragon.
Another notable figure with the name Marcelyn was Marcelyn de Villamil, a 16th-century Spanish explorer and navigator who led several expeditions to the Americas and the Pacific Ocean.
While the name Marcelyn has its origins in ancient Rome and was used throughout Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods, it has remained relatively uncommon in modern times, particularly in English-speaking countries.
People
Marcelyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marcelyn 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
Marcelyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marcelyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 283 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marcelyn 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 1,211,146 US residents.
Is Marcelyn a common name?
We classify Marcelyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 709 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marcelyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Marcelyn was 1928, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marcelyn is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Marcelyn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marcelyn 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.
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.