Markey
From the Old Norse meaning "servant", or its French variant "horseman".
Name Census estimates that about 276 living Americans carry the first name Markey. It is a predominantly male name (98.3% of registrations). The average person named Markey today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Markey births was 1980 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Markey. 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
276
~ 1 in 1,241,864 Americans
Peak year
1980
15 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2017 SSA rank
#10,387
Tracked since 1958
Census
Markey in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 355 people with the first name Markey, which placed it at #26,287 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
#26,287
National first-name rank
People counted
355
355 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
58.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Markey
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Markey is Black at 58.0%. The next largest groups are White (29.3%) and Hispanic (6.5%). 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 Markey 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 Markey at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American58.0% · 206
- White29.3% · 104
- Hispanic or Latino6.5% · 23
- Two or more races4.8% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Markey
Markey leans heavily male at 98.3% of total registrations, but 5 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Markey as a male name
- Ranked #10,387 in 2017
- 7 male births in 2017
- Peak: 1980 (15 births)
Markey as a female name
- Ranked #12,068 in 1986
- 5 female births in 1986
- Peak: 1986 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Markey on both sides of the split. Of the 353 people counted with this name, 254 were male (72.0%) and 99 were female (28.0%).
Popularity
Markey: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Markey from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 78 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Markey remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Markey 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 Markey 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 Markey
The given name Markey has its origins in the English language, with roots tracing back to the medieval period. It is believed to be a diminutive form of the name Mark, which was derived from the Latin name Marcus. The name Mark itself has its roots in the ancient Roman name Mart-kos, which referred to the Roman god of war, Mars.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Markey can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners and property commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086 AD. The name is listed as Markei, which was a common spelling variation during that period.
In the 12th century, the name Markey appeared in religious texts and church records across various regions of England. It was often used as a baptismal name, reflecting the influence of the Christian faith on naming practices during that time.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Markey. One such figure was Markey of Wigan (c. 1290-1350), an English landowner and nobleman who played a significant role in the local politics of Lancashire during the 14th century.
Another prominent individual with this name was Markey Bryce (1513-1587), a Scottish merchant and trader who established successful trade routes between Scotland and continental Europe, contributing to the economic prosperity of his homeland.
In the realm of literature, Markey Davison (1640-1722) was an English poet and playwright who gained recognition for his satirical works that criticized the social and political climate of his time.
The name Markey also found its way into military history with Markey Trumbull (1735-1809), an American soldier who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and later became a prominent political figure in Connecticut.
Lastly, Markey Phelps (1822-1898) was an English architect and engineer who made significant contributions to the design and construction of several iconic bridges and railway stations in the Victorian era, leaving a lasting impact on the landscape of 19th century Britain.
People
Markey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Markey 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
Markey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Markey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 276 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Markey 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 1,241,864 US residents.
Is Markey a common name?
We classify Markey as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 289 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Markey most popular?
The single biggest year for Markey was 1980, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Markey is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Markey in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 355 people with the name Markey, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,287 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 Markey 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 Markey?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Markey on both sides of the split. Of the 353 people counted with this name, 254 were male (72.0%) and 99 were female (28.0%). 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 Markey?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Markey is Black at 58.0%. The next largest groups are White (29.3%) and Hispanic (6.5%). 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 Markey most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Markey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.0% (206 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 Markey in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Markey a male name?
Yes, 98.3% of people registered as Markey 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 Markey still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Markey 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 Markey 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 are named Markey?
Want to know how many people share the name Markey? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.