2000
#1,900
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,360
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.44
Uncommon Last name
Marcus
A Roman praenomen and patronymic surname derived from Mars, the god of war, fertility, and agriculture in Roman mythology.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 19,223 Americans carry the last name Marcus. That puts it at #2,096 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 17,830 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Marcus 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Marcus with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
19K
1 in 17,830
Census rank
#2,096
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
17K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,763 bearers of the surname Marcus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2096th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Marcus, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.7%. The next largest groups are Black (11.8%) and Hispanic (8.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Marcus
The surname Marcus has its origins in ancient Rome, where it was a common praenomen (given name) derived from the name of the Roman god Mars, the god of war. The name was originally spelled "Marcus" in Latin.
The name Marcus was first used as a hereditary surname during the Middle Ages, particularly in Italy and other parts of Europe that were influenced by Roman culture. It is likely that the name was adopted as a surname by families who traced their ancestry back to someone who bore the given name Marcus.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Marcus can be found in the Domesday Book, a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name is listed as "Marcus" in this document.
In the 12th century, a notable bearer of the surname was Petrus Marcus, a Italian philosopher and theologian who was born in Venice around 1140. He is known for his work on logic and metaphysics.
During the Renaissance period, the Marcus surname was associated with several notable figures in the arts and literature. One example is the Italian painter and architect Battista Marco Gambara (c. 1490-1573), who was known for his frescoes and architectural designs in northern Italy.
Another notable bearer of the Marcus surname was the German humanist and scholar Johannes Marcus (1543-1628), who was a professor of rhetoric and poetry at the University of Wittenberg.
In the 18th century, the Marcus surname was associated with the English poet and playwright Moses Marcus (1730-1787), who was born in London and is best known for his satirical plays and poems.
Another significant bearer of the Marcus surname was the French military leader and politician Étienne Jacques Joseph Alexandre Marcus (1770-1828), who served as a general under Napoleon Bonaparte and later became a member of the French Chamber of Deputies.
Throughout history, the surname Marcus has been spelled in various ways, including Marcuse, Markus, and Marcou, depending on the region and language. It has also been associated with certain place names, such as the Italian town of Marco, which may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname in some cases.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marcus
Among Census respondents with the surname Marcus, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.7%. The next largest groups are Black (11.8%) and Hispanic (8.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Marcus 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 Marcus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.7% · 12,527
- Black or African American11.8% · 1,984
- Hispanic or Latino8.2% · 1,368
- Two or more races2.9% · 489
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 274
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 121
Timeline
Historical Census data for Marcus
Marcus 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
#2,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,671
+311 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 5.99
Rank movement Down 137 places
2020
#2,096
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,763
-908 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 5.61
Rank movement Down 59 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,900 | 17,360 | 6.44 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,037 | 17,671 | 5.99 | +311 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 137 places |
| 2020 | #2,096 | 16,763 | 5.61 | -908 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 59 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 Marcus 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 | #2,037 | #2,096 | -2.9% |
| Count | 17,671 | 16,763 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 5.99 | 5.61 | -6.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Marcus bearers went from 17,671 to 16,763 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 59 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,037 to #2,096.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Marcus
FAQ
Marcus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Marcus?
Name Census estimates that about 19,223 living Americans carry the surname Marcus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 17,830 residents.
How common is Marcus?
Marcus ranks #2,096 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.61 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,763 people with the surname Marcus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (19,223), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.61 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Marcus.
Has Marcus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Marcus went from 17,671 recorded bearers to 16,763. That is a decrease of 908 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,037 to #2,096.
What does the Census say about the background of Marcus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Marcus, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.7%. The next largest groups are Black (11.8%) and Hispanic (8.2%). 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 Marcus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.7% (12,527 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Marcus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.7%), Black (11.8%), Hispanic (8.2%). 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 Marcus (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 Marcus mean?
A Roman praenomen and patronymic surname derived from Mars, the god of war, fertility, and agriculture in Roman mythology. 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 Marcus (5.61 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 common is the surname Marcus?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Marcus at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.