2000
#11,026
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,645
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.98
Rare Last name
Marciano
Derived from the Italian place name Marciana or the Roman name Marcianus, meaning "of or from Marciana" or "belonging to Marcianus."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,217 Americans carry the last name Marciano. That puts it at #10,846 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 106,545 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Marciano 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
3.2K
1 in 106,545
Census rank
#10,846
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,805 bearers of the surname Marciano in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10846th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Marciano, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Marciano
The surname Marciano originated in Italy, specifically in the regions of Lazio and Campania, during the medieval period. It is derived from the Latin name Martianus, which itself comes from the Roman god Mars, the deity of war. This name was likely initially given as a personal name to individuals who exhibited warrior-like qualities or were born under the astrological sign of Aries, which was ruled by Mars.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Marciano can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Cavensis, a collection of medieval documents from the Montevergine Abbey in Campania, dating back to the 11th century. This suggests that the name was already in use in this region by that time.
In the 13th century, there are records of a nobleman named Riccardo Marciano, who held land and titles in the Kingdom of Naples. His descendants continued to use the surname Marciano for several generations.
During the Renaissance period, a notable figure bearing the name Marciano was the Italian humanist and philosopher Giovanni Marciano (1483-1555), who was born in Viterbo, Lazio. He was renowned for his works on philosophy and rhetoric.
In the 17th century, the Marciano family had established itself in the city of Naples, where they were involved in various trades and professions. One prominent member was the architect and engineer Giovan Battista Marciano (1619-1692), who designed several churches and palaces in Naples and its surroundings.
Another noteworthy individual with the surname Marciano was the Italian composer and organist Benedetto Marciano (1686-1739), who was born in Palermo, Sicily. He composed numerous sacred works and served as the organist at the Palermo Cathedral.
In the 19th century, a famous bearer of the name Marciano was the Italian patriot and military leader Giuseppe Marciano (1820-1867), who fought for the unification of Italy alongside Giuseppe Garibaldi. He was a prominent figure in the Risorgimento movement and played a key role in the capture of Sicily from the Bourbon forces.
Throughout its history, the surname Marciano has also been associated with various place names in Italy, such as Marcianise, a town in the province of Caserta, and Marcianopoli, an ancient city in the region of Puglia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marciano
Among Census respondents with the surname Marciano, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Marciano 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 Marciano surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.7% · 2,376
- Hispanic or Latino9.6% · 270
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 79
- Two or more races2.2% · 62
- Black or African American0.6% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Marciano
Marciano 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
#10,882
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,929
+284 bearers (+10.7%)
Per 100,000 0.99
Rank movement Up 144 places
2020
#10,846
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,805
-124 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Up 36 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,026 | 2,645 | 0.98 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,882 | 2,929 | 0.99 | +284 bearers (+10.7%) | Up 144 places |
| 2020 | #10,846 | 2,805 | 0.94 | -124 bearers (-4.2%) | Up 36 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 Marciano 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 | #10,882 | #10,846 | 0.3% |
| Count | 2,929 | 2,805 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.99 | 0.94 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Marciano bearers went from 2,929 to 2,805 (-4.2% change). The surname moved up 36 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,882 to #10,846.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Marciano
FAQ
Marciano surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Marciano?
Name Census estimates that about 3,217 living Americans carry the surname Marciano. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 106,545 residents.
How common is Marciano?
Marciano ranks #10,846 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.94 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 2,805 people with the surname Marciano. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,217), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.94 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 Marciano.
Has Marciano become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Marciano went from 2,929 recorded bearers to 2,805. That is a decrease of 124 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,882 to #10,846.
What does the Census say about the background of Marciano?
Among Census respondents with the surname Marciano, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Marciano in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.7% (2,376 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Marciano appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.7%), Hispanic (9.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Marciano (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 Marciano mean?
Derived from the Italian place name Marciana or the Roman name Marcianus, meaning "of or from Marciana" or "belonging to Marcianus." 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 Marciano (0.94 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 surname Marciano?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.