Marquail
A modern invented name, likely a blend of "Mark" and "Quail".
Name Census estimates that about 173 living Americans carry the first name Marquail. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Marquail today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marquail births was 1992 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marquail. 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
173
~ 1 in 1,981,239 Americans
Peak year
1992
15 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2011 SSA rank
#10,359
Tracked since 1985
Census
Marquail in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 150 people with the first name Marquail, which placed it at #45,340 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
#45,340
National first-name rank
People counted
150
150 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
92.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marquail
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marquail is Black at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) and White (0.7%). 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 Marquail 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 Marquail at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American92.0% · 138
- Two or more races6.7% · 10
- White0.7% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 1
Popularity
Marquail: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marquail 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 96 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
Marquail 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 Marquail 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 Marquail
The name Marquail has its origins in the Frankish culture of medieval Europe, emerging during the early Middle Ages around the 6th century AD. It is derived from the Germanic elements "marc" meaning "horse" and "wald" meaning "ruler" or "power." The name can be interpreted as "one who rules over horses" or "powerful with horses," reflecting the importance of horses in the warrior culture of the Franks.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Marquail can be found in the Merovingian royal annals, where it was borne by a minor Frankish nobleman in the court of King Clovis I in the late 5th century. While not a prominent figure in history, this early reference suggests the name's use among the Frankish aristocracy during the formative years of the Merovingian dynasty.
In the 9th century, the name gained broader recognition when it was chosen by Marquail of Nantes, a Breton count and military leader who played a pivotal role in defending the Duchy of Brittany against Viking raids. His exploits were recorded in various contemporary chronicles, cementing the name's association with valor and military prowess.
During the High Middle Ages, the name Marquail appeared sporadically in historical records across various regions of Europe. Notably, Marquail de Vaux was a French knight who participated in the Third Crusade under King Richard the Lionheart in the late 12th century. His name is inscribed on the Crusader rolls preserved in the archives of the Knights Templar.
In the 14th century, Marquail de Montfort was a prominent figure in the Hundred Years' War between England and France. As a skilled military commander, he led several successful campaigns against the English forces and was renowned for his strategic acumen and bravery on the battlefield.
Another notable bearer of the name was Marquail de Chambord, a French nobleman and courtier during the reign of King Francis I in the 16th century. He served as a trusted advisor to the king and was renowned for his diplomatic skills and cultural patronage.
While the name Marquail has its roots in medieval European history, it has remained relatively obscure in modern times, with few notable individuals bearing the name in recent centuries. Its unique origins and associations with courage, leadership, and equestrian prowess make it a fascinating example of how names can reflect the cultural values and traditions of their time.
People
Marquail + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marquail 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
Marquail: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marquail?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 173 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marquail 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 1,981,239 US residents.
Is Marquail a common name?
We classify Marquail as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 177 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marquail most popular?
The single biggest year for Marquail was 1992, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marquail is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marquail in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 150 people with the name Marquail, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #45,340 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 Marquail 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 Marquail?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marquail leans strongly male. 143 people counted with this name were male (97.3%), compared with 4 female bearers (2.7%). 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 Marquail?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marquail is Black at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) and White (0.7%). 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 Marquail most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Marquail in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (138 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 Marquail in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marquail a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marquail 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 Marquail still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marquail 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 Marquail 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 Marquail?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.