Marquette
French name possibly meaning "one who belongs to the household guard".
Name Census estimates that about 1,798 living Americans carry the first name Marquette. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 66.2% of registrations being male. The average person named Marquette today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marquette births was 1992 (68 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marquette. 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
1.8K
~ 1 in 190,631 Americans
Peak year
1992
68 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2022 SSA rank
#10,470
Tracked since 1937
Gender
Gender distribution for Marquette
Marquette is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,929 total registrations, 1,277 (66.2%) were male and 652 (33.8%) were female.
Marquette as a male name
- Ranked #10,470 in 2022
- 7 male births in 2022
- Peak: 1992 (50 births)
Marquette as a female name
- Ranked #12,951 in 2001
- 7 female births in 2001
- Peak: 1984 (34 births)
Popularity
Marquette: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marquette from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 460 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
Marquette 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 Marquette during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marquettes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. District of Columbia, Tennessee, Texas recorded the most babies named Marquette, while Maryland, Louisiana, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marquette
The name Marquette originates from the French language and has its roots in the medieval period. It is derived from the Old French word "marque," which means "border" or "boundary." This name was likely first used to refer to someone who lived near a border or territorial boundary.
In the 12th century, the name Marquette appeared in historical records as a surname in the region of Normandy, France. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name was Jacques Marquette, a French Jesuit missionary and explorer who lived from 1637 to 1675. He is renowned for his exploration of the Mississippi River and for establishing missions among Native American tribes.
Another notable bearer of the name Marquette was Joseph Nicolas Delisle, also known as Joseph Nicolas Delisle de la Croyère, a French astronomer and cartographer who lived from 1688 to 1768. He was a member of the French Academy of Sciences and is known for his contributions to the mapping of North America.
In the 19th century, Marquette gained prominence as a given name, particularly in the United States. One of the earliest recorded individuals with the first name Marquette was Marquette Calvert, an American politician who served as the 21st Governor of Maryland from 1865 to 1869.
Another notable figure was Marquette Williams, an American actor and playwright who lived from 1847 to 1915. He was a prominent figure in the African American theater community and known for his performances in minstrel shows.
In more recent history, Marquette has been used as a given name for both men and women. One example is Marquette King, an American football punter who played for the Oakland Raiders and the Denver Broncos in the National Football League (NFL) from 2012 to 2018.
While the name Marquette has its roots in France and was initially used as a surname, it has evolved over centuries to become a distinct given name in its own right. Its association with notable historical figures and its unique sound have contributed to its enduring popularity.
People
Marquette + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marquette 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
Marquette: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marquette?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,798 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marquette 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 190,631 US residents.
Is Marquette a common name?
We classify Marquette as "Rare". It ranks above 93.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,929 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marquette most popular?
The single biggest year for Marquette was 1992, when 68 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marquette is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Marquette a male name?
Yes, 66.2% of people registered as Marquette 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.
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.