Marcuse last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Marcuse

A surname likely derived from a place name containing the German element "Mark" meaning boundary or border.

Marcuse, 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 Marcuse surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Marcuse in America

Marcuse is the 105079th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Marcuse surname appeared 170 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Marcuse.

We can also compare 2010 data for Marcuse 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.

20102000Change (%)
Rank105079973847.60%
Count170173-1.75%
Proportion per 100k0.060.060.00%

The history of the last name Marcuse

The surname Marcuse is of German origin, originating in the northern regions of the country during the medieval period. It is believed to derive from the combination of the German words "Marc," meaning boundary or border, and "use," meaning settlement or dwelling. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to individuals who lived near a territorial boundary or border settlement.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Marcuse can be traced back to the 13th century. One of the earliest known references is found in a manuscript from the city of Hamburg, dated around 1280, which mentions a person named "Markus von der Use," likely an early variation of the surname.

During the 14th and 15th centuries, the name appeared in various records across northern Germany, with slight variations in spelling, such as "Markuse," "Marcusse," and "Marcussen." These variations reflect the regional dialects and scribal practices of the time.

One notable historical figure bearing the name Marcuse was Johann Marcuse (1583-1667), a German theologian and educator who served as the rector of the famous Johanneum School in Hamburg. Another prominent individual was Friedrich Marcuse (1790-1865), a Prussian jurist and legal scholar who authored several influential works on jurisprudence.

In the 19th century, the name gained recognition through the philosopher and political theorist Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979), a prominent figure in the Frankfurt School of critical theory. His works, such as "One-Dimensional Man" and "Eros and Civilization," explored themes of social criticism, technology, and the human condition.

Another significant figure was the German-American writer and playwright Ludwig Marcuse (1894-1971), who wrote several popular plays and novels, including "The Hunters" and "The Maskers." He also served as a cultural attaché for the United States in Germany during the post-World War II period.

Lastly, one cannot overlook the contributions of the German-American biochemist and Nobel laureate Max F. Perutz (1914-2002), whose original surname was Marcuse before it was anglicized. Perutz's groundbreaking research on the structures of hemoglobin and other proteins earned him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1962.

While the surname Marcuse may have originated from humble beginnings, it has left an indelible mark on various fields throughout history, from academia and literature to science and philosophy.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Marcuse

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

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 Marcuse was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only95.29%162
Non-Hispanic Black Only4.12%7
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native0.00%0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races0.00%0
Hispanic Origin(S)%(S)

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 Marcuse has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White95.29%90.75%4.88%
Black4.12%(S)%(S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander(S)%(S)%(S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.00%0.00%0.00%
Two or More Races0.00%2.89%-200.00%
Hispanic(S)%2.89%(S)%

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

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

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