Markell
A masculine name of French origin meaning "valiant servant" or "little warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 4,795 living Americans carry the first name Markell. It is a predominantly male name (95.5% of registrations). The average person named Markell today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Markell births was 2005 (185 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Markell. 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 Markell with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Markell is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 219 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
4.8K
~ 1 in 71,482 Americans
Peak year
2005
185 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,489
Tracked since 1962
Census
Markell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,469 people with the first name Markell, which placed it at #5,073 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
#5,073
National first-name rank
People counted
3.5K
3,469 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
81.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Markell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Markell is Black at 81.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.2%) and White (5.9%). 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 Markell 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 Markell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American81.8% · 2,838
- Two or more races7.2% · 249
- White5.9% · 206
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 129
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 15
Gender
Gender distribution for Markell
Markell leans heavily male at 95.5% of total registrations, but 219 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Markell as a male name
- Ranked #2,489 in 2024
- 55 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2005 (176 births)
Markell as a female name
- Ranked #19,160 in 2009
- 5 female births in 2009
- Peak: 1995 (17 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Markell leans strongly male. 3,241 people counted with this name were male (93.1%), compared with 240 female bearers (6.9%).
Popularity
Markell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Markell from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,530 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Markell 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 Markell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Markells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 24 states and territories. California, Georgia, Texas recorded the most babies named Markell, while Oklahoma, Wisconsin, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 112 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Markell
The name Markell is believed to have originated from the German language, and it is thought to have been derived from the Old German name Marcellus, which itself is a diminutive form of the Roman name Marcus. Marcus was a common name among the ancient Romans, and it is believed to have been derived from the word "mars," which was the name of the Roman god of war.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Markell can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Tacitus, who lived in the first century AD. Tacitus mentions a man named Marcellus who was a prominent figure in the Roman Empire during the reign of Emperor Nero.
Another notable individual with the name Markell was Saint Marcellus, who was the Pope from 308 to 309 AD. He is revered as a martyr in the Catholic Church, and his feast day is celebrated on January 16th.
In the Middle Ages, the name Markell was relatively common in parts of Europe, particularly in Germany and the surrounding regions. One notable figure from this period was Markell von Eberstein, a German knight who fought in the Crusades during the 12th century.
During the Renaissance period, the name Markell was also popular in parts of Italy. One notable individual from this time was Marcello Malpighi, an Italian biologist and physician who lived from 1628 to 1694. He is famous for his pioneering work in the field of anatomy and is considered one of the founders of modern microscopic anatomy.
In more recent history, there have been several notable individuals with the name Markell. One such person was Markell Shults, an American football player who played in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1990s. Another notable figure was Markell Brooks, an American actor who appeared in several films and television shows in the late 20th century.
People
Markell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Markell 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
Markell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Markell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,795 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Markell 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 71,482 US residents.
Is Markell a common name?
We classify Markell as "Rare". It ranks above 96.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,895 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Markell most popular?
The single biggest year for Markell was 2005, when 185 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Markell is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Markell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,469 people with the name Markell, or 1.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,073 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 Markell 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 Markell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Markell leans strongly male. 3,241 people counted with this name were male (93.1%), compared with 240 female bearers (6.9%). 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 Markell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Markell is Black at 81.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.2%) and White (5.9%). 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 Markell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Markell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.8% (2,838 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 Markell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Markell a male name?
Yes, 95.5% of people registered as Markell 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 Markell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Markell 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 Markell 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 many people are named Markell?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.