Marq
A variant spelling of the French masculine name Marc, meaning "dedicated to Mars".
Name Census estimates that about 91 living Americans carry the first name Marq. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Marq today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marq births was 1997 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marq. 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 Marq. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
91
~ 1 in 3,766,531 Americans
Peak year
1997
12 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2017 SSA rank
#13,546
Tracked since 1989
Census
Marq in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 296 people with the first name Marq, which placed it at #29,744 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
#29,744
National first-name rank
People counted
296
296 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
43.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marq
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marq is Black at 43.6%. The next largest groups are White (31.4%) and Hispanic (12.8%). 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 Marq 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 Marq at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American43.6% · 129
- White31.4% · 93
- Hispanic or Latino12.8% · 38
- Two or more races7.4% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.1% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 2
Popularity
Marq: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marq from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 76 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marq 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 Marq 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 Marq
The given name Marq is a variant spelling of the name Marc, which originates from the Roman praenomen Marcus. The name Marcus is derived from the name of the Roman god Mars, the deity of war and agriculture. Its meaning is associated with war, battle, and masculinity.
The name Marc gained popularity during the Roman Empire and was later adopted by various Christian communities. In the Middle Ages, it was a common name among Europeans, particularly in France, Italy, and Spain. The variant spelling Marq emerged in certain regions, possibly influenced by local dialects or linguistic variations.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Marq can be found in medieval manuscripts and records from the 12th century. It was used by individuals from various social classes, including nobles, clergy, and commoners.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Marq or its variants. One example is Marq de Villiers (1512-1581), a French military commander who served under King Henry II of France during the Italian Wars. Another is Marq de Valette (1494-1568), a Maltese nobleman and the 49th Prince and Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller.
In the realm of literature, Marq Antony Hill (1705-1789) was an English poet and playwright known for his satirical works. Marq Chagall (1887-1985) was a renowned Russian-French artist, renowned for his distinctive style that blended elements of Cubism, Symbolism, and Fauvism.
Marq Blitzstein (1905-1964) was an American composer best known for his works in the genre of American opera, including "The Cradle Will Rock" and "Regina."
While the name Marq is relatively uncommon in modern times, it carries a rich historical legacy, spanning various cultures and eras, from its Roman origins to its enduring presence in medieval Europe and beyond.
People
Marq + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marq 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
Marq: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marq?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 91 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marq 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 3,766,531 US residents.
Is Marq a common name?
We classify Marq as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 93 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marq most popular?
The single biggest year for Marq was 1997, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marq is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marq in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 296 people with the name Marq, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,744 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 Marq 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 Marq?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marq leans strongly male. 269 people counted with this name were male (88.8%), compared with 34 female bearers (11.2%). 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 Marq?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marq is Black at 43.6%. The next largest groups are White (31.4%) and Hispanic (12.8%). 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 Marq most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Marq in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.6% (129 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 Marq in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marq a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marq 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 Marq still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marq 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 Marq 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 Americans are named Marq?
See how many people have the name Marq on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.