2000
#106,477
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 155
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Marsa
A surname derived from the Arabic word "mars" meaning port or harbor.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Marsa. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Marsa 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Marsa in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Marsa, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.4%) and Two or More Races (5.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Marsa
The surname Marsa has its origins in Italy, where it first emerged in the 14th century. It is derived from the medieval Italian word "marsa," which referred to a marshy or swampy area of land. This suggests that the name was likely originally a toponymic surname, given to people who lived near or worked on a marshy region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Marsa can be found in the Florentine Codex, a 16th-century ethnographic work that documented the history and customs of the Aztec people. In this text, a person named Giovanni Marsa is mentioned as a translator and interpreter who worked with the Spanish conquistadors in Mexico.
In the 17th century, the Marsa name appeared in several Italian genealogical records. For example, a man named Francesco Marsa was listed as a landowner in the town of Parma in 1642. Another notable figure from this time period was Antonio Marsa, a Venetian merchant who was born in 1679 and is believed to have traded extensively with the Ottoman Empire.
During the 18th century, the name Marsa began to spread beyond Italy. In 1756, a man named Johann Marsa was recorded as a resident of the German city of Heidelberg. This suggests that Italian immigrants with the Marsa surname had begun to settle in other parts of Europe.
One of the most famous individuals with the Marsa surname was Giuseppe Marsa, an Italian painter and sculptor who lived from 1801 to 1875. He is best known for his sculptures and frescoes that adorn several churches and palaces in Rome and the surrounding areas.
Another notable figure was Maria Marsa, a renowned Italian opera singer who was born in Naples in 1825 and performed in many of the major opera houses of Europe during the mid-19th century.
While the name Marsa is relatively uncommon today, it has a rich history that spans several centuries and multiple European countries. Its origins can be traced back to medieval Italy, where it was likely given to those who lived near marshy areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marsa
Among Census respondents with the surname Marsa, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.4%) and Two or More Races (5.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Marsa 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 Marsa surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.5% · 91
- Black or African American6.4% · 7
- Two or more races5.5% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Marsa
Marsa 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
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-45 bearers (-29.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 42,918 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 810 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #106,477 | 155 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | -45 bearers (-29.0%) | Down 42,918 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 810 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 Marsa 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 | #149,395 | #150,205 | -0.5% |
| Count | 110 | 109 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Marsa bearers went from 110 to 109 (-0.9% change). The surname moved down 810 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #150,205.
FAQ
Marsa surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Marsa?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Marsa. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Marsa?
Marsa ranks #150,205 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 109 people with the surname Marsa. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Marsa.
Has Marsa become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Marsa went from 110 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #149,395 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Marsa?
Among Census respondents with the surname Marsa, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.4%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Marsa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.5% (91 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Marsa appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.5%), Black (6.4%), Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Marsa (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 Marsa mean?
A surname derived from the Arabic word "mars" meaning port or harbor. 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 Marsa (0.04 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 Marsa?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.