Mareo
Meaning uncertain; potentially derived from the Spanish "mareo" meaning "dizziness" or "seasickness".
Name Census estimates that about 170 living Americans carry the first name Mareo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Mareo today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mareo births was 1980 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mareo. 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
170
~ 1 in 2,016,202 Americans
Peak year
1980
16 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
2009 SSA rank
#13,759
Tracked since 1969
Census
Mareo in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 283 people with the first name Mareo, which placed it at #30,644 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
#30,644
National first-name rank
People counted
283
283 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
45.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mareo
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mareo is Hispanic at 45.2%. The next largest groups are Black (43.1%) and White (6.4%). 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 Mareo 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 Mareo at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino45.2% · 128
- Black or African American43.1% · 122
- White6.4% · 18
- Two or more races3.2% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Mareo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mareo from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 96 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mareo 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 Mareo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mareos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Mareo
The name Mareo is believed to have originated from the Latin word "mare," meaning "sea." Its origins can be traced back to ancient Rome, where it was used as a masculine name. During the Roman era, names were often derived from natural elements, professions, or physical characteristics, and Mareo likely referred to someone who lived near the sea or had a connection to maritime activities.
In the Middle Ages, the name Mareo gained popularity in certain regions of Europe, particularly in Italy and Spain. It was commonly used as a variant of the more widely known name Mario, which also derived from the Latin "mare." Records from the 13th and 14th centuries show instances of Mareo being used as a first name, although its usage was not as widespread as other names of the time.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Mareo can be found in the writings of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri, who lived from 1265 to 1321. In his epic poem "Divine Comedy," Dante makes a reference to a character named Mareo, though it is unclear whether this was an actual person or a fictional creation.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Mareo. One of the most prominent was Mareo Polo, an Italian merchant and explorer who lived from 1254 to 1324. His travels to Asia and his written accounts of his journey, known as "The Travels of Marco Polo," became a significant contribution to the understanding of the Eastern world during that time.
Another individual of historical significance was Mareo Cornaro, a Venetian diplomat and statesman who lived from 1406 to 1479. He served as the Doge of Venice, the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice, from 1365 to 1367.
In the realm of art, Mareo Basaiti was an Italian Renaissance painter who lived from around 1470 to 1530. He was a prominent figure in the Venetian School of painting and is known for his religious works and portraits.
During the 16th century, Mareo Antonio de Dominis was a Dalmatian scholar, philosopher, and Catholic bishop who lived from 1560 to 1624. He made significant contributions to the fields of optics and astronomy and was involved in the scientific debates of his time.
Lastly, Mareo Foscarini was an Italian astronomer and philosopher who lived from 1628 to 1692. He was a proponent of the heliocentric theory proposed by Galileo Galilei and played a role in the scientific revolution of the 17th century.
While the name Mareo has its roots in ancient times, it has maintained a presence throughout various historical periods, albeit with varying levels of popularity. These examples showcase the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of individuals who carried this name, contributing to its cultural significance.
People
Mareo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mareo 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
Mareo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mareo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 170 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mareo 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 2,016,202 US residents.
Is Mareo a common name?
We classify Mareo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 179 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mareo most popular?
The single biggest year for Mareo was 1980, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mareo is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mareo in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 283 people with the name Mareo, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,644 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 Mareo 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 Mareo?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mareo leans strongly male. 287 people counted with this name were male (98.6%), compared with 4 female bearers (1.4%). 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 Mareo?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mareo is Hispanic at 45.2%. The next largest groups are Black (43.1%) and White (6.4%). 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 Mareo most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Mareo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.2% (128 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 Mareo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mareo a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mareo 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 Mareo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mareo 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 Mareo 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 Mareo?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.