2000
#15,428
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,744
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.65
Rare Last name
Marcellus
Derived from the Roman surname Marcellus, which originally meant "belonging to Mars," the Roman god of war.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,573 Americans carry the last name Marcellus. That puts it at #13,063 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 133,212 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Marcellus 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 133,212
Census rank
#13,063
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,244 bearers of the surname Marcellus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13063rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Marcellus, the largest self-reported group is Black at 50.6%. The next largest groups are White (43.1%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marcellus
Among Census respondents with the surname Marcellus, the largest self-reported group is Black at 50.6%. The next largest groups are White (43.1%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Marcellus 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 Marcellus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American50.6% · 1,135
- White43.1% · 967
- Two or more races3.0% · 68
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 58
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Marcellus
Marcellus 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
#14,227
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,108
+364 bearers (+20.9%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Up 1,201 places
2020
#13,063
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,244
+136 bearers (+6.5%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Up 1,164 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,428 | 1,744 | 0.65 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,227 | 2,108 | 0.71 | +364 bearers (+20.9%) | Up 1,201 places |
| 2020 | #13,063 | 2,244 | 0.75 | +136 bearers (+6.5%) | Up 1,164 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 Marcellus 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 | #14,227 | #13,063 | 8.2% |
| Count | 2,108 | 2,244 | 6.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.71 | 0.75 | 5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Marcellus bearers went from 2,108 to 2,244 (+6.5% change). The surname moved up 1,164 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,227 to #13,063.
FAQ
Marcellus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Marcellus?
Name Census estimates that about 2,573 living Americans carry the surname Marcellus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 133,212 residents.
How common is Marcellus?
Marcellus ranks #13,063 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.75 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 2,244 people with the surname Marcellus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,573), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.75 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 Marcellus.
Has Marcellus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Marcellus went from 2,108 recorded bearers to 2,244. That is an increase of 136 (+6.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,227 to #13,063.
What does the Census say about the background of Marcellus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Marcellus, the largest self-reported group is Black at 50.6%. The next largest groups are White (43.1%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Marcellus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.6% (1,135 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Marcellus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (50.6%), White (43.1%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Marcellus (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 Marcellus mean?
Derived from the Roman surname Marcellus, which originally meant "belonging 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 Marcellus (0.75 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 Americans have the surname Marcellus?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.