Markel
An Americanized form of the Spanish surname Marqués, derived from marqués meaning "marquis".
Name Census estimates that about 4,673 living Americans carry the first name Markel. It is a predominantly male name (97.5% of registrations). The average person named Markel today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Markel births was 1999 (183 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Markel. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Markel with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Markel is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 121 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
4.7K
~ 1 in 73,348 Americans
Peak year
1999
183 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,688
Tracked since 1948
Census
Markel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,446 people with the first name Markel, which placed it at #5,096 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
#5,096
National first-name rank
People counted
3.4K
3,446 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
79.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Markel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Markel is Black at 79.3%. The next largest groups are White (9.4%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Markel 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 Markel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American79.3% · 2,734
- White9.4% · 323
- Two or more races5.5% · 189
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 153
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 21
Gender
Gender distribution for Markel
Markel leans heavily male at 97.5% of total registrations, but 121 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Markel as a male name
- Ranked #2,688 in 2024
- 49 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1999 (172 births)
Markel as a female name
- Ranked #12,585 in 2005
- 8 female births in 2005
- Peak: 1990 (12 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Markel leans strongly male. 3,273 people counted with this name were male (95.0%), compared with 174 female bearers (5.0%).
Popularity
Markel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Markel from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,469 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Markel 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 Markel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Markels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 23 states and territories. Georgia, Florida, Texas recorded the most babies named Markel, while Massachusetts, Indiana, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 116 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Markel
The name Markel is of Hebrew origin and can be traced back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew word "mar'kel," which means "bitter herb" or "bitter plant." The name is closely associated with the Jewish festival of Passover, during which bitter herbs are consumed as a symbolic reminder of the bitter hardships endured by the Israelites during their enslavement in Egypt.
Markel first appeared in biblical texts as a reference to the bitter herbs used in the Passover celebration. In the Book of Exodus, the Israelites were instructed to eat bitter herbs (maror) alongside the Passover lamb as a commemoration of their ancestors' suffering.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Markel was a 12th-century Jewish scholar and philosopher, Rabbi Markel ben Samuel. He is renowned for his contributions to the study of Jewish law and ethics, particularly his commentaries on the Talmud.
In the 16th century, Markel Bensabat was a prominent Jewish physician and astronomer in Portugal. He played a significant role in the development of medical knowledge and astronomical observations during the Renaissance period.
During the 17th century, Markel Avraham was a notable Jewish poet and playwright in Amsterdam. His works were instrumental in preserving and promoting Jewish culture and traditions during a time of widespread persecution and intolerance.
In the 19th century, Markel Zoutek was a revered Jewish educator and author in Poland. He was known for his innovative teaching methods and his efforts to promote education among Jewish communities across Europe.
Another notable figure bearing the name Markel was Markel Novick, a Russian-born American artist and illustrator who lived from 1888 to 1967. His vibrant and expressive artworks captured the spirit of the early 20th century and are now highly sought after by collectors.
While the name Markel has its roots in the Hebrew language and Jewish traditions, it has also been adopted by diverse cultures and communities around the world, each adding their own unique interpretations and associations to its meaning.
People
Markel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Markel 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
Markel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Markel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,673 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Markel 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 73,348 US residents.
Is Markel a common name?
We classify Markel as "Rare". It ranks above 96.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,791 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Markel most popular?
The single biggest year for Markel was 1999, when 183 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Markel is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Markel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,446 people with the name Markel, or 1.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,096 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 Markel 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 Markel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Markel leans strongly male. 3,273 people counted with this name were male (95.0%), compared with 174 female bearers (5.0%). 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 Markel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Markel is Black at 79.3%. The next largest groups are White (9.4%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Markel most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Markel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.3% (2,734 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 Markel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Markel a male name?
Yes, 97.5% of people registered as Markel 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 Markel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Markel 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 Markel 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 have the name Markel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.