Marchella
A feminine name of Italian origin meaning "little warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 145 living Americans carry the first name Marchella. It is a predominantly female name (91.5% of registrations). The average person named Marchella today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marchella births was 1969 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marchella. 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
145
~ 1 in 2,363,823 Americans
Peak year
1969
11 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
1982 SSA rank
#5,380
Tracked since 1956
Census
Marchella in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 217 people with the first name Marchella, which placed it at #36,520 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
#36,520
National first-name rank
People counted
217
217 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
50.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marchella
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marchella is Black at 50.2%. The next largest groups are White (34.1%) and Hispanic (7.8%). 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 Marchella 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 Marchella at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American50.2% · 109
- White34.1% · 74
- Hispanic or Latino7.8% · 17
- Two or more races4.6% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Marchella
Marchella leans heavily female at 91.5% of total registrations, but 14 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Marchella as a male name
- Ranked #5,380 in 1982
- 7 male births in 1982
- Peak: 1981 (7 births)
Marchella as a female name
- Ranked #18,573 in 2012
- 5 female births in 2012
- Peak: 1969 (11 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marchella leans strongly female. 208 people counted with this name were female (94.5%), compared with 12 male bearers (5.5%).
Popularity
Marchella: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marchella from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 51 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marchella 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 Marchella 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 Marchella
The name Marchella is believed to have originated from the Latin name Marcella, which itself is a feminine form of the Roman family name Marcellus. The name Marcellus is derived from the Latin word "marculus," meaning "little male" or "young warrior." This suggests that the name Marchella has its roots in ancient Roman culture and language.
The earliest recorded use of the name Marchella dates back to the 5th century AD, when it was mentioned in various historical records and texts from the Roman Empire. During this period, the name was likely given to baby girls born into Roman families with a connection to the Marcellus clan.
One of the earliest notable figures to bear the name Marchella was a Roman noblewoman who lived in the 6th century AD. She was known for her charitable work and was recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church after her death.
In the Middle Ages, the name Marchella was occasionally used in various parts of Europe, particularly in regions with strong ties to the Catholic Church. It was sometimes given to girls as a nod to the aforementioned Saint Marchella.
During the Renaissance period, the name Marchella saw a resurgence in popularity, particularly in Italy. One notable figure from this time was Marchella Bresciani (1467-1535), an Italian painter and illustrator who was celebrated for her religious artworks.
In the 17th century, Marchella Rossetti (1590-1672) was an Italian composer and musician who gained fame for her works in the Baroque style. She was one of the few female composers of her time to achieve recognition.
Marchella Fagnani (1771-1856) was an Italian aristocrat and socialite who was known for her beauty and her influence in the high society circles of London and Paris in the early 19th century.
Another notable figure was Marchella Gutiérrez (1845-1928), a Cuban-American educator and activist who played a significant role in the development of early childhood education in the United States.
While the name Marchella has been used across various cultures and time periods, its origins can be traced back to the ancient Roman civilization, where it was likely derived from the family name Marcellus and had connotations of strength and masculinity.
People
Marchella + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marchella 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
Marchella: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marchella?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 145 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marchella 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 2,363,823 US residents.
Is Marchella a common name?
We classify Marchella as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 164 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marchella most popular?
The single biggest year for Marchella was 1969, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marchella is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marchella in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 217 people with the name Marchella, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,520 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 Marchella 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 Marchella?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marchella leans strongly female. 208 people counted with this name were female (94.5%), compared with 12 male bearers (5.5%). 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 Marchella?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marchella is Black at 50.2%. The next largest groups are White (34.1%) and Hispanic (7.8%). 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 Marchella most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Marchella in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.2% (109 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 Marchella in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marchella a female name?
Yes, 91.5% of people registered as Marchella 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 Marchella still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marchella 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 Marchella 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 share the name Marchella?
Find out how many Americans are named Marchella on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.