2000
#11,026
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,645
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.98
Rare Last name
Marko
A Croatian and Slovenian surname derived from the given name Marko, a form of Mark, meaning "warlike."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,921 Americans carry the last name Marko. That puts it at #11,763 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 117,341 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Marko 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Marko with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 117,341
Census rank
#11,763
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,547 bearers of the surname Marko in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11763rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Marko, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Marko
The surname Marko has its origins in the Slavic region of Central and Eastern Europe. It is believed to have derived from the Latin name Marcus, which was a popular name among the ancient Romans. The earliest recorded use of the surname Marko dates back to the 12th century in the Kingdom of Croatia.
During the Middle Ages, the name Marko was commonly found in various regions of the Balkans, particularly in areas that were part of the medieval Serbian and Bulgarian empires. It was often used as a personal name, and later adopted as a hereditary surname by families in these regions.
One of the earliest documented references to the surname Marko can be found in the Dubrovnik Archives, which contains records of a nobleman named Marko Gundulić, who lived in the 15th century. Another notable figure was Marko Marulić (1450-1524), a Croatian poet and scholar who is considered one of the founders of Renaissance literature in Croatia.
In the 16th century, the surname Marko began to spread beyond the Balkans as a result of migration and trade. It can be found in historical records from various parts of Europe, including Germany, Poland, and Russia.
One notable bearer of the surname Marko was Peter Mark Roget (1779-1869), the British physician and philologist who is best known for compiling the famous Roget's Thesaurus. Another was Marko Vovchok (1833-1907), a Ukrainian writer and feminist who was one of the founders of modern Ukrainian literature.
In the 20th century, the surname Marko gained further prominence with figures such as Marko Čudić (1901-1963), a Croatian sculptor and artist, and Marko Marulić (1914-1992), a prominent Croatian writer and poet.
The surname Marko has also been associated with various place names and geographical locations throughout Central and Eastern Europe, such as the town of Marko in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the village of Markovac in Croatia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marko
Among Census respondents with the surname Marko, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Marko 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 Marko surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 2,347
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 89
- Two or more races2.4% · 61
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 27
- Black or African American0.7% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Marko
Marko 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
#11,614
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,701
+56 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 0.92
Rank movement Down 588 places
2020
#11,763
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,547
-154 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Down 149 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 | #11,614 | 2,701 | 0.92 | +56 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 588 places |
| 2020 | #11,763 | 2,547 | 0.85 | -154 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 149 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 Marko 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 | #11,614 | #11,763 | -1.3% |
| Count | 2,701 | 2,547 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.92 | 0.85 | -7.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Marko bearers went from 2,701 to 2,547 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 149 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,614 to #11,763.
FAQ
Marko surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Marko?
Name Census estimates that about 2,921 living Americans carry the surname Marko. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 117,341 residents.
How common is Marko?
Marko ranks #11,763 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.85 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 2,547 people with the surname Marko. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,921), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.85 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 Marko.
Has Marko become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Marko went from 2,701 recorded bearers to 2,547. That is a decrease of 154 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,614 to #11,763.
What does the Census say about the background of Marko?
Among Census respondents with the surname Marko, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Marko in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (2,347 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Marko appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Marko (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 Marko mean?
A Croatian and Slovenian surname derived from the given name Marko, a form of Mark, meaning "warlike." 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 Marko (0.85 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 share the surname Marko?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.