2000
#17,899
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,441
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.53
Rare Last name
Marcelino
Derived from the Latin name Marcellinus, meaning "little warrior" or "belonging to Mars, the Roman god of war."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,000 Americans carry the last name Marcelino. That puts it at #11,506 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 114,251 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Marcelino 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
3.0K
1 in 114,251
Census rank
#11,506
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,616 bearers of the surname Marcelino in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11506th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Marcelino, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 53.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (24.9%) and White (16.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Marcelino
The surname Marcelino is of Spanish origin, originating in the Iberian Peninsula during the medieval period. It is derived from the Latin name "Marcellinus," which itself comes from the Roman family name "Marcellus." The name Marcellus likely has roots in the Latin word "marcere," meaning "to wither" or "to shrink."
In its earliest forms, the name appeared in various Latin texts and records from the Roman era, often referring to individuals from notable Roman families. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Saint Marcellinus, a 4th-century Christian martyr and Pope who was executed during the Diocletianic Persecution.
As the name spread throughout Europe during the Middle Ages, it took on various spellings and regional variations, including Marcelino, Marcellino, and Marçalinho. In the Iberian Peninsula, the name Marcelino was particularly common, appearing in numerous medieval records and documents.
One of the earliest known references to the surname Marcelino can be found in the Tumbo Viejo de Castilla, a 12th-century cartulary from the Kingdom of Castile. Another notable early bearer of the name was Marcelino Menéndez Pelayo (1856-1912), a prominent Spanish scholar, historian, and literary critic.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Marcelino, including:
1. Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola (1831-1888), a Spanish nobleman and amateur archaeologist who discovered the famous cave paintings of Altamira in 1879.
2. Marcelino García Toral (1873-1959), a Spanish painter and one of the most important figures in the Valencian Modernist movement.
3. Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo (1856-1912), the aforementioned Spanish scholar and literary critic, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in Spanish intellectual history.
4. Marcelino Champagnat (1789-1840), a French Catholic priest and the founder of the Marist Brothers, a religious institute dedicated to education.
5. Marcelino Iglesias Bouzón (1889-1976), a Spanish politician and trade union leader who served as the President of the Executive Committee of the General Union of Workers (UGT) from 1944 to 1971.
While the surname Marcelino has its roots in ancient Roman and Latin origins, it has maintained a strong presence in Spanish-speaking regions, particularly in Spain and parts of Latin America, where it continues to be a prominent surname to this day.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marcelino
Among Census respondents with the surname Marcelino, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 53.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (24.9%) and White (16.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Marcelino 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 Marcelino surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino53.6% · 1,402
- Asian and Pacific Islander24.9% · 651
- White16.9% · 441
- Black or African American2.8% · 73
- Two or more races1.8% · 48
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Marcelino
Marcelino 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
#12,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,372
+931 bearers (+64.6%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Up 4,951 places
2020
#11,506
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,616
+244 bearers (+10.3%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Up 1,442 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #17,899 | 1,441 | 0.53 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,948 | 2,372 | 0.80 | +931 bearers (+64.6%) | Up 4,951 places |
| 2020 | #11,506 | 2,616 | 0.88 | +244 bearers (+10.3%) | Up 1,442 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 Marcelino 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 | #12,948 | #11,506 | 11.1% |
| Count | 2,372 | 2,616 | 10.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.88 | 9.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Marcelino bearers went from 2,372 to 2,616 (+10.3% change). The surname moved up 1,442 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,948 to #11,506.
FAQ
Marcelino surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Marcelino?
Name Census estimates that about 3,000 living Americans carry the surname Marcelino. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 114,251 residents.
How common is Marcelino?
Marcelino ranks #11,506 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.88 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 2,616 people with the surname Marcelino. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,000), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.88 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 Marcelino.
Has Marcelino become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Marcelino went from 2,372 recorded bearers to 2,616. That is an increase of 244 (+10.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,948 to #11,506.
What does the Census say about the background of Marcelino?
Among Census respondents with the surname Marcelino, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 53.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (24.9%) and White (16.9%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Marcelino in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.6% (1,402 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Marcelino appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (53.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (24.9%), White (16.9%). 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 Marcelino (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 Marcelino mean?
Derived from the Latin name Marcellinus, meaning "little warrior" or "belonging to Mars, the Roman god of war." 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 Marcelino (0.88 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 Marcelino?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.