Marcas
A Latinized form of the name Marcus, with Germanic origin meaning "warlike".
Name Census estimates that about 231 living Americans carry the first name Marcas. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Marcas today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marcas births was 1980 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marcas. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Marcas with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
231
~ 1 in 1,483,785 Americans
Peak year
1980
11 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2023 SSA rank
#13,441
Tracked since 1970
Census
Marcas in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 241 people with the first name Marcas, which placed it at #34,040 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#34,040
National first-name rank
People counted
241
241 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
40.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marcas
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marcas is White at 40.7%. The next largest groups are Black (28.2%) and Hispanic (19.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Marcas 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Marcas at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White40.7% · 98
- Black or African American28.2% · 68
- Hispanic or Latino19.5% · 47
- Two or more races7.5% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 2
Popularity
Marcas: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marcas from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 86 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marcas by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Marcas during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marcas
The name Marcas finds its origins in the Latin language, with its roots traced back to ancient Rome. It is derived from the Latin word "marcus," which means "warlike" or "belonging to Mars," the Roman god of war. This connection suggests that the name was initially bestowed upon individuals with a strong and courageous spirit, reflecting the characteristics associated with the deity Mars.
During the Roman era, the name Marcas was relatively uncommon but not unheard of. One of the earliest recorded instances of its use can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Tacitus, who mentioned a soldier named Marcas Valerius serving in the Roman legions during the first century AD.
As the Roman Empire expanded, the name Marcas spread to various regions and underwent slight variations in spelling and pronunciation. In certain Germanic tribes, it was adapted as "Marcus" or "Markus," while in other areas, it retained its original Latin form.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Marcas maintained a presence, albeit to a lesser degree than its counterparts Marcus and Mark. One notable figure bearing this name was Marcas Aurelius, a 9th-century scholar and philosopher who resided in the Byzantine Empire and contributed to the preservation of ancient Greek knowledge.
During the Renaissance period, the name experienced a resurgence, particularly in Italy, where it was often associated with the arts and intellectualism. Marcas Girolamo, an Italian painter and architect born in 1476, left a lasting legacy with his contributions to the artistic landscape of the time.
As the centuries passed, the name Marcas continued to be used across various cultures and regions, though its popularity fluctuated. In the 18th century, Marcas Antonius, a German composer and violinist, gained recognition for his contributions to the classical music repertoire.
Another significant figure bearing the name Marcas was Marcas Garvey, a Jamaican political activist and leader of the Pan-Africanism movement, who was born in 1887 and played a pivotal role in advocating for the rights and unity of people of African descent.
While the name Marcas may not be as widespread as its variants Marcus and Mark, it has endured throughout history, carrying with it a sense of strength, courage, and endurance – qualities that have been embodied by the individuals who have borne this name over the centuries.
People
Marcas + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marcas as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Marcas: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marcas?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 231 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marcas going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,483,785 US residents.
Is Marcas a common name?
We classify Marcas as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 239 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marcas most popular?
The single biggest year for Marcas was 1980, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marcas is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marcas in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 241 people with the name Marcas, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,040 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Marcas in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Marcas?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marcas leans strongly male. 234 people counted with this name were male (97.9%), compared with 5 female bearers (2.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Marcas?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marcas is White at 40.7%. The next largest groups are Black (28.2%) and Hispanic (19.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Marcas most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Marcas in the 2020 Census, accounting for 40.7% (98 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Marcas in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marcas a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marcas in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Marcas still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marcas in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Marcas can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Marcas?
See how many people share the name Marcas on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.