2000
#20,284
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,220
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.45
Rare Last name
Marcelin
Derived from the Latin name Marcellinus, meaning "belonging to Mars" or "dedicated to Mars," the Roman god of war.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,592 Americans carry the last name Marcelin. That puts it at #12,996 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 132,235 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Marcelin surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 132,235
Census rank
#12,996
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,260 bearers of the surname Marcelin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12996th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Marcelin, the largest self-reported group is Black at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and White (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Marcelin
The surname MARCELIN is of French origin, with its earliest known roots dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to have originated from the medieval French personal name "Marcelin," which itself derived from the Latin name "Marcellinus," a diminutive of the Roman family name "Marcellus." This Latin name is thought to have been derived from the Roman god of war, Mars.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name MARCELIN can be found in the Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Père de Chartres, a 12th-century manuscript containing charters and documents related to the Abbey of Saint-Père in Chartres, France. This document mentions a certain "Robertus Marcelin" from the village of Mainvilliers, near Chartres, in the year 1145.
In the 13th century, the name MARCELIN appears in the Livre des Bourgeois de Valenciennes, a register of citizens in the town of Valenciennes in northern France. This record includes an entry for a "Jehans Marcelin" who was a merchant in the year 1278.
A notable bearer of the MARCELIN surname was Jean-Henri Marcelin, a French Jesuit missionary and explorer who lived from 1697 to 1769. He was sent to Louisiana in the early 18th century and is known for his explorations of the Mississippi River and its tributaries, as well as his interactions with Native American tribes in the region.
Another prominent figure with this surname was Jean-Baptiste Marcelin, a French playwright and poet who lived from 1823 to 1887. He is best known for his historical plays and his contributions to the development of the French Romantic movement in literature.
In the 19th century, the MARCELIN surname was also found in the Caribbean, particularly in Haiti. One notable bearer was Louis-Joseph Marcelin, a Haitian politician and diplomat who served as the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1879 to 1888.
The name MARCELIN has also been associated with various place names throughout France, such as the village of Marcellaz in the Rhône-Alpes region, which is believed to have derived its name from an early bearer of the surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marcelin
Among Census respondents with the surname Marcelin, the largest self-reported group is Black at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and White (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Marcelin bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Marcelin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American88.9% · 2,010
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 104
- White3.4% · 76
- Two or more races2.4% · 55
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Marcelin
Marcelin appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#15,104
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,953
+733 bearers (+60.1%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Up 5,180 places
2020
#12,996
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,260
+307 bearers (+15.7%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Up 2,108 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #20,284 | 1,220 | 0.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,104 | 1,953 | 0.66 | +733 bearers (+60.1%) | Up 5,180 places |
| 2020 | #12,996 | 2,260 | 0.76 | +307 bearers (+15.7%) | Up 2,108 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Marcelin surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #15,104 | #12,996 | 14.0% |
| Count | 1,953 | 2,260 | 15.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.66 | 0.76 | 14.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Marcelin bearers went from 1,953 to 2,260 (+15.7% change). The surname moved up 2,108 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,104 to #12,996.
FAQ
Marcelin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Marcelin?
Name Census estimates that about 2,592 living Americans carry the surname Marcelin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 132,235 residents.
How common is Marcelin?
Marcelin ranks #12,996 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,260 people with the surname Marcelin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,592), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.76 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Marcelin.
Has Marcelin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Marcelin went from 1,953 recorded bearers to 2,260. That is an increase of 307 (+15.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,104 to #12,996.
What does the Census say about the background of Marcelin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Marcelin, the largest self-reported group is Black at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and White (3.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Marcelin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.9% (2,010 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Marcelin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (88.9%), Hispanic (4.6%), White (3.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Marcelin (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Marcelin mean?
Derived from the Latin name Marcellinus, meaning "belonging to Mars" or "dedicated to Mars," the Roman god of war. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Marcelin (0.76 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Marcelin?
You can see how many people have the surname Marcelin on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.