Marche
Of French origin, meaning "to walk or march".
Name Census estimates that about 397 living Americans carry the first name Marche. It is a predominantly female name (98.3% of registrations). The average person named Marche today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marche births was 1989 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marche. 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
397
~ 1 in 863,361 Americans
Peak year
1989
28 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
1994 SSA rank
#7,468
Tracked since 1960
Gender
Gender distribution for Marche
Marche leans heavily female at 98.3% of total registrations, but 7 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Marche as a male name
- Ranked #7,468 in 1994
- 7 male births in 1994
- Peak: 1994 (7 births)
Marche as a female name
- Ranked #16,506 in 2009
- 6 female births in 2009
- Peak: 1989 (28 births)
Popularity
Marche: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marche from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 181 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Marche remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marche 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 Marche during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marches live
Origin
Meaning and history of Marche
The given name Marche has its origins in the French language, emerging during the Middle Ages around the 11th or 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old French word "marcher," which means "to walk" or "to march." This connection suggests that the name may have been initially associated with individuals who were travelers, soldiers, or those engaged in some form of journey or expedition.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Marche can be found in the chronicles of the Crusades, where it was mentioned as the name of a French knight who participated in the Third Crusade (1189-1192 CE). This knight, Marche de Montfort, was a member of the prominent Montfort family and fought alongside King Richard I of England during the campaign to reclaim the Holy Land from Muslim rule.
In the 13th century, a renowned French trouvère (a composer and poet of secular music) named Marche le Petit gained fame for his contributions to the courtly love tradition. His works, which often praised the virtues of courtly love and chivalry, were widely circulated among the noble circles of medieval France.
During the Renaissance period, the name Marche was associated with the Italian humanist and scholar Marche Palmieri (1406-1475), who was renowned for his works on ethics, philosophy, and rhetoric. Palmieri served as a diplomat and advisor to the powerful Medici family in Florence and was highly regarded for his erudition and intellectual prowess.
In the realm of religious history, the name Marche is connected to Saint Marche de Vézelay (1123-1188), a French monk and abbot who played a significant role in the construction of the renowned Basilica of Vézelay, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Burgundy, France. Saint Marche was known for his piety, leadership, and architectural vision, and his name remains associated with this iconic Romanesque church.
During the 19th century, the name Marche gained further prominence with the French playwright and novelist Marche de Villiers (1811-1859), whose works often explored themes of social commentary and satire. His play "Le Gamin de Paris" (The Street Urchin of Paris) became a popular success and cemented his reputation as a keen observer of Parisian life and culture.
These are just a few notable examples of individuals throughout history who bore the given name Marche, a name that has its roots in the French language and has been carried by figures from various fields, including warfare, literature, religion, and the arts.
People
Marche + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marche 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
Marche: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marche?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 397 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marche 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 863,361 US residents.
Is Marche a common name?
We classify Marche as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 418 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marche most popular?
The single biggest year for Marche was 1989, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marche is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Marche a female name?
Yes, 98.3% of people registered as Marche 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.