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

Marcus, 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 Marcus surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Marcus in America

Marcus is the 2037th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Marcus surname appeared 17,671 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Marcus.

We can also compare 2010 data for Marcus 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 Marcus

The surname Marcus has its origins in ancient Rome, where it was a common praenomen (given name) derived from the name of the Roman god Mars, the god of war. The name was originally spelled "Marcus" in Latin.

The name Marcus was first used as a hereditary surname during the Middle Ages, particularly in Italy and other parts of Europe that were influenced by Roman culture. It is likely that the name was adopted as a surname by families who traced their ancestry back to someone who bore the given name Marcus.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Marcus can be found in the Domesday Book, a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name is listed as "Marcus" in this document.

In the 12th century, a notable bearer of the surname was Petrus Marcus, a Italian philosopher and theologian who was born in Venice around 1140. He is known for his work on logic and metaphysics.

During the Renaissance period, the Marcus surname was associated with several notable figures in the arts and literature. One example is the Italian painter and architect Battista Marco Gambara (c. 1490-1573), who was known for his frescoes and architectural designs in northern Italy.

Another notable bearer of the Marcus surname was the German humanist and scholar Johannes Marcus (1543-1628), who was a professor of rhetoric and poetry at the University of Wittenberg.

In the 18th century, the Marcus surname was associated with the English poet and playwright Moses Marcus (1730-1787), who was born in London and is best known for his satirical plays and poems.

Another significant bearer of the Marcus surname was the French military leader and politician Étienne Jacques Joseph Alexandre Marcus (1770-1828), who served as a general under Napoleon Bonaparte and later became a member of the French Chamber of Deputies.

Throughout history, the surname Marcus has been spelled in various ways, including Marcuse, Markus, and Marcou, depending on the region and language. It has also been associated with certain place names, such as the Italian town of Marco, which may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname in some cases.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Marcus

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

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 Marcus 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 Marcus 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 Marcus was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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