Find out how popular the last name Marcellus is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Marcellus.

Marcellus, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Marcellus surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Marcellus in America

Marcellus is the 14227th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Marcellus surname appeared 2,108 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Marcellus.

We can also compare 2010 data for Marcellus to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Marcellus

The surname Marcellus has its origins in ancient Rome, tracing back to the Gens Claudia, a patrician family that played a prominent role in Roman history. The name itself is derived from the Roman praenomen "Marcus," a common name in that era.

The earliest recorded instance of the name Marcellus can be found in the 3rd century BC, when a member of the Claudian family, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, achieved fame as a Roman consul and military commander during the Second Punic War. He was known for his victories against the Carthaginian forces led by Hannibal.

In the Middle Ages, the name Marcellus appeared in various medieval records and manuscripts across Europe, particularly in regions influenced by Roman culture and civilization. One notable example is its inclusion in the Domesday Book, a survey commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, which recorded landholders in England.

Over the centuries, the name Marcellus has been associated with several notable individuals. One of the most famous was the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Claudius Marcellus Theodosius (347-395 AD), also known as Theodosius I, who played a pivotal role in establishing Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire.

Another prominent figure was Marcellus II (1501-1555), an Italian Renaissance scholar and theologian who briefly served as Pope in 1555 before his untimely death after just 22 days in office.

In more recent times, Marcellus Gilmore Edson (1849-1940), an American chemist and industrialist, is credited with the invention of peanut butter and the establishment of the Edson Corporation, a successful manufacturing company.

The name Marcellus has also been associated with various place names, such as Marcellus, a town in New York, and Marcellus, a village in Michigan, both named after the Roman leader Marcus Claudius Marcellus.

Throughout history, variations and spellings of the name have emerged, including Marcello, Marcellino, and Marcellin, reflecting the linguistic and cultural influences of different regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Marcellus

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Marcellus.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Marcellus was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Marcellus has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Marcellus was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Marcellus, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!