Marshun
Of African American origin, its meaning remains uncertain but may relate to 'marsh' or 'mash'.
Name Census estimates that about 226 living Americans carry the first name Marshun. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Marshun today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marshun births was 1999 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marshun. 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
226
~ 1 in 1,516,612 Americans
Peak year
1999
11 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2021 SSA rank
#13,375
Tracked since 1978
Census
Marshun in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 193 people with the first name Marshun, which placed it at #39,252 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
#39,252
National first-name rank
People counted
193
193 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
98.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marshun
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marshun is Black at 98.4%. The next largest groups are White (0.5%) and Hispanic (0.5%). 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 Marshun 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 Marshun at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American98.4% · 190
- White0.5% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 1
- Two or more races0.5% · 1
Popularity
Marshun: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marshun from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 77 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marshun 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 Marshun during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marshuns live
Origin
Meaning and history of Marshun
The name Marshun has its origins in the ancient Semitic language of Aramaic, which was widely spoken across the Middle East and parts of the Mediterranean region from around the 8th century BCE to the 7th century CE. Derived from the Aramaic root "mrshun," which means "gracious" or "merciful," the name likely emerged among Aramaic-speaking communities in regions like Syria, Lebanon, and parts of modern-day Turkey and Iraq.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Marshun can be found in the Aramaic inscriptions discovered in the ancient city of Palmyra, located in present-day Syria. These inscriptions, dating back to the 3rd century CE, mention a prominent merchant and landowner named Marshun, who played a significant role in the city's trade and economic affairs.
In the 5th century CE, a Christian scholar and theologian named Marshun of Nisibis gained widespread recognition for his contributions to the study of Syriac literature and biblical exegesis. Born in the city of Nisibis (modern-day Nusaybin, Turkey), he authored several influential works and was revered for his vast knowledge of Aramaic and Greek.
During the 7th century, a renowned poet and philosopher named Marshun al-Kindi emerged in the city of Kufa, located in present-day Iraq. His collection of poems and philosophical treatises, though fragmentary, have been widely studied and celebrated for their linguistic elegance and intellectual depth.
In the 12th century, a scholar and physician named Marshun ibn Abi al-Khayr gained prominence in the city of Damascus, where he served as the court physician to the Ayyubid dynasty. His medical treatises and contributions to the field of pharmacology were highly regarded throughout the region.
Another notable figure bearing the name Marshun was a 14th-century trader and explorer from the city of Aleppo, Syria. Known as Marshun al-Halabi, he embarked on numerous voyages throughout the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, leaving behind detailed accounts of his travels and the lands he visited.
These are just a few examples of individuals named Marshun who have left their mark on history, highlighting the name's deep roots in the Aramaic language and its enduring presence across various cultures and eras in the Middle East and beyond.
People
Marshun + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marshun 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
Marshun: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marshun?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 226 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marshun 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 1,516,612 US residents.
Is Marshun a common name?
We classify Marshun as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 230 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marshun most popular?
The single biggest year for Marshun was 1999, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marshun is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marshun in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 193 people with the name Marshun, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #39,252 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 Marshun 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 Marshun?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marshun leans strongly male. 177 people counted with this name were male (90.8%), compared with 18 female bearers (9.2%). 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 Marshun?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marshun is Black at 98.4%. The next largest groups are White (0.5%) and Hispanic (0.5%). 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 Marshun most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Marshun in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.4% (190 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 Marshun in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marshun a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marshun 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 Marshun still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marshun 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 Marshun 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 Marshun?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.