Marcopolo
An Italian masculine name referring to the famous medieval Venetian explorer.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Marcopolo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Marcopolo today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marcopolo births was 2003 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marcopolo. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Marcopolo. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2003
5 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2003 SSA rank
#12,067
Tracked since 2003
Popularity
Marcopolo: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Marcopolo 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 Marcopolo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Marcopolo
The given name Marcopolo is a combination of two distinct names, Marco and Polo. It does not have a direct origin or etymology as a single name. However, we can explore the origins and histories of the individual names that make up this combined form.
Marco is a masculine given name of Italian origin. It is derived from the ancient Roman name Marcus, which was a common Roman praenomen or personal name. The name Marcus is thought to have originated from the Latin word "mas," meaning "male" or "masculine." It was a popular name among the ancient Romans and was borne by several notable historical figures, including Marcus Tullius Cicero, the famous Roman philosopher, orator, and statesman (106-43 BC).
Polo, on the other hand, is a name of Italian or Spanish origin. It is thought to be a shortened form of the name Apollonius, which was derived from the Greek name Apollonios, meaning "devoted to Apollo," the ancient Greek god of music, poetry, and prophecy. Alternatively, some sources suggest that Polo may have originated as a nickname from the Italian word "polo," meaning "chicken" or "fowl."
One of the earliest and most famous individuals to bear the combined name Marcopolo was the renowned Venetian merchant traveler and explorer Marco Polo (1254-1324). He is best known for his travels along the Silk Road to the court of Kublai Khan in Mongolia and his detailed accounts of his journey, which were documented in the book "Il Milione" (The Travels of Marco Polo).
Another notable figure with the name Marcopolo was Marco Polo Servilius Geminus (c. 91-13 BC), a Roman consul and general who served during the Roman Republic. He was a member of the influential Servilii family and played a role in the civil wars that plagued the late Roman Republic.
In the realm of literature, there was Marco Polo Pampani (1504-1576), an Italian poet and playwright from Perugia. He is best known for his pastoral plays and his contributions to the development of Italian Renaissance literature.
In the field of science, we have Marco Polo Revelli (1888-1976), an Italian physicist and mathematician who made significant contributions to the study of quantum mechanics and nuclear physics.
Lastly, in the world of sports, there was Marco Polo Del Nero (1941-2022), a Brazilian football administrator who served as the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) from 2015 to 2017.
While Marcopolo is not a common single given name, it has been borne by several notable individuals throughout history, primarily due to the fame and legacy of the Venetian traveler Marco Polo, whose name has become synonymous with exploration and adventure.
People
Marcopolo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marcopolo 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
Marcopolo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marcopolo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marcopolo 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Marcopolo a common name?
We classify Marcopolo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marcopolo most popular?
The single biggest year for Marcopolo was 2003, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marcopolo is about 23 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 Marcopolo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marcopolo a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marcopolo 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.
Is Marcopolo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marcopolo 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 Marcopolo 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 common is the name Marcopolo?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.