Marcenia
Feminine form of the Latin name Marcenus, derived from Mars, the Roman god of war.
Name Census estimates that about 18 living Americans carry the first name Marcenia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marcenia today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marcenia births was 1959 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marcenia. 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 Marcenia is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Marcenias were born before 1967.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Marcenia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
18
~ 1 in 19,041,908 Americans
Peak year
1959
6 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
1968 SSA rank
#7,714
Tracked since 1945
Popularity
Marcenia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marcenia from the 1940s through to the 1960s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 11 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
Marcenia 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 Marcenia 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 Marcenia
The given name Marcenia has its origins in the ancient Roman name Marcia, which was derived from the Roman family name Marcius. This name is believed to have originated from the Latin word "mars," meaning "male" or "masculine," possibly referring to the Roman god of war, Mars.
In ancient Rome, the name Marcia was commonly used for both males and females. It was a popular name among the aristocratic families and was borne by several notable historical figures. One of the earliest recorded examples is Marcia, the daughter of the Roman philosopher Cremutius Cordus, who lived during the reign of Tiberius in the 1st century AD.
As the Roman Empire spread its influence, the name Marcia and its variants traveled to different regions and underwent various modifications. The form Marcenia likely emerged as a feminine variant of Marcia, possibly influenced by the Greek suffix "-ia," which was often used to create feminine names.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Marcenia was Marcenia Galeria Faustilla, a Roman empress who lived in the 2nd century AD. She was the wife of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius and was known for her patronage of the arts and her charitable works.
During the Middle Ages, the name Marcenia appeared in various records and documents across Europe. One notable figure was Marcenia of Almazán, a Spanish noblewoman and patron of the arts who lived in the 12th century. She was renowned for her support of poets and scholars at her court.
In the Renaissance period, the name Marcenia gained popularity among the Italian nobility. One of the most famous bearers of this name was Marcenia Malaspina, an Italian poet and writer who lived in the 16th century. Her collection of poems, titled "Rime," was widely acclaimed and influential in the literary circles of her time.
Another notable figure was Marcenia Beccaria, an Italian philosopher and jurist who lived in the 18th century. She was a prominent advocate for legal reforms and is best known for her treatise "On Crimes and Punishments," which had a significant impact on the abolition of torture and the reform of criminal law.
In more recent history, Marcenia Lyle Shelton was an American educator and civil rights activist who lived from 1900 to 1995. She was a pioneering figure in the desegregation of schools in the United States and worked tirelessly for equal educational opportunities for African American students.
People
Marcenia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marcenia 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
Marcenia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marcenia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 18 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marcenia 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 19,041,908 US residents.
Is Marcenia a common name?
We classify Marcenia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 38.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 26 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marcenia most popular?
The single biggest year for Marcenia was 1959, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marcenia is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Marcenia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marcenia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marcenia 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 Marcenia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marcenia 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 Marcenia 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Marcenia as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.