Marquitta
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly French or Spanish.
Name Census estimates that about 1,071 living Americans carry the first name Marquitta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marquitta today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marquitta births was 1983 (138 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marquitta. 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.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 320,032 Americans
Peak year
1983
138 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2005 SSA rank
#18,201
Tracked since 1938
Census
Marquitta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 954 people with the first name Marquitta, which placed it at #12,853 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
#12,853
National first-name rank
People counted
954
954 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
82.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marquitta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marquitta is Black at 82.2%. The next largest groups are White (10.3%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Marquitta 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 Marquitta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American82.2% · 784
- White10.3% · 98
- Two or more races3.7% · 35
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 1
Popularity
Marquitta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marquitta from the 1930s through to the 2000s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 591 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
Marquitta 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 Marquitta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marquittas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. Illinois, Georgia, Mississippi recorded the most babies named Marquitta, while New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marquitta
The name Marquitta finds its origins in the Spanish language, derived from the Latin word "marquis," meaning a nobleman or lord. It is a feminine variant of the masculine name Marquis, which was initially used as a title of nobility in various European countries.
The earliest recorded use of the name Marquitta can be traced back to the 16th century in Spain, where it was likely given to daughters of noble families or those associated with the aristocracy. However, its popularity spread beyond the confines of nobility, and it became a common name among Spanish-speaking communities.
One of the earliest known historical figures to bear the name Marquitta was Marquitta de Carvajal, a Spanish noblewoman born in the late 15th century. She was a prominent figure in the court of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile, known for her involvement in the Spanish Inquisition.
In the 17th century, Marquitta de la Cruz was a notable Spanish nun and mystic who founded the Order of the Immaculate Conception in Seville, Spain. Her writings and teachings on spirituality and devotion to the Virgin Mary became influential within the Catholic Church.
During the 18th century, Marquitta de la Garza y Falcón was a wealthy landowner and rancher in what is now the state of Texas, USA. She inherited vast swaths of land and played a significant role in the development of the region during the Spanish colonial era.
In the 19th century, Marquitta Gonzalez was a Cuban writer and poet known for her contributions to the literary movement of Romanticism. Her works often explored themes of love, nature, and the struggles of women in society.
Another notable figure was Marquitta Erskine, an American philanthropist and social reformer born in 1868. She was actively involved in various charitable organizations and worked tirelessly to improve the lives of underprivileged communities in her hometown of Philadelphia.
Throughout history, the name Marquitta has been borne by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions, reflecting its rich cultural heritage and enduring appeal across various regions and time periods.
People
Marquitta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marquitta 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
Marquitta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marquitta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,071 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marquitta 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 320,032 US residents.
Is Marquitta a common name?
We classify Marquitta as "Rare". It ranks above 90.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,183 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marquitta most popular?
The single biggest year for Marquitta was 1983, when 138 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marquitta is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marquitta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 954 people with the name Marquitta, or 0.32 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,853 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 Marquitta 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 Marquitta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marquitta appears almost entirely female. Of the 946 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Marquitta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marquitta is Black at 82.2%. The next largest groups are White (10.3%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Marquitta most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Marquitta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.2% (784 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 Marquitta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marquitta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marquitta in the SSA data are female. 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 Marquitta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marquitta 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 Marquitta 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 share the name Marquitta?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.