Marselo
A masculine name derived from the Roman name Marcellus, meaning "little warrior."
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Marselo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Marselo today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marselo births was 1981 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marselo. 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 Marselo. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1981
5 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,465
Tracked since 1981
Census
Marselo in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 138 people with the first name Marselo, which placed it at #47,373 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
#47,373
National first-name rank
People counted
138
138 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
86.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marselo
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marselo is Hispanic at 86.2%. The next largest groups are White (7.2%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (3.6%). 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 Marselo 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 Marselo at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino86.2% · 119
- White7.2% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.6% · 5
- Black or African American2.2% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 1
Popularity
Marselo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marselo from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 5 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marselo 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 Marselo 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 Marselo
The name Marselo is believed to have its origins in the Latin language. It is thought to be a variation of the name Marcellus, which was derived from the Roman clan name Marcellus. The Marcellus clan was a prominent family in ancient Rome, and the name is likely connected to the Roman god of war, Mars.
Marselo is first recorded in historical documents from the Middle Ages, particularly in regions of Italy and Spain. During this period, the name was often spelled as Marcelo or Marcelho, reflecting its Latin roots. It's possible that the spelling variation Marselo emerged as a regional variation in certain parts of the Iberian Peninsula.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Marselo was Marselo de Alvarado, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico in the 16th century alongside Hernán Cortés. He was born around 1490 and played a significant role in the fall of the Aztec Empire.
Another notable figure was Marselo Venusti, an Italian painter active in the late 16th century. He was known for his works depicting religious subjects and portraits, and his paintings can be found in various galleries and churches throughout Italy.
In the 17th century, Marselo Malpighi, an Italian biologist and physician, made significant contributions to the study of anatomy and plant morphology. He is considered one of the founders of modern microscopic anatomy and is credited with the discovery of capillaries and other important anatomical structures.
During the 19th century, Marselo Bittencourt was a Brazilian abolitionist and politician who fought against slavery in Brazil. He was instrumental in the passage of the Lei Áurea, which abolished slavery in 1888, and served as a member of the Brazilian Senate.
In more recent history, Marselo Romero was a Mexican artist known for his surrealist paintings and sculptures. He was born in 1924 and his works often explored themes of Mexican culture, mythology, and the human condition. Romero's art can be found in museums and private collections worldwide.
While the name Marselo has undergone various spelling variations throughout history, its Latin roots and connection to the Roman god of war have remained a consistent theme. The name has been carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds, including explorers, artists, scientists, and political figures, adding to its rich cultural heritage.
People
Marselo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marselo 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
Marselo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marselo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marselo 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Marselo a common name?
We classify Marselo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marselo most popular?
The single biggest year for Marselo was 1981, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marselo is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marselo in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 138 people with the name Marselo, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #47,373 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 Marselo 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 Marselo?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marselo leans strongly male. 132 people counted with this name were male (98.5%), compared with 2 female bearers (1.5%). 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 Marselo?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marselo is Hispanic at 86.2%. The next largest groups are White (7.2%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (3.6%). 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 Marselo most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Marselo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.2% (119 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 Marselo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marselo a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marselo 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 Marselo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marselo 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 Marselo 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 common is the name Marselo?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Marselo on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.