Marcel
Marcel was given to 364 boys in 2025, #731 among boys’ names; 21,123 Americans have been recorded with it since 1881 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 16,600 Americans named Marcel and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (78% of everyone recorded); the median is 30 years old and half are between 13 and 48.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Marcel by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Marcel mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Marcel is “a male given name from French.”
Borrowed from French Marcel, from Latin Marcellus, diminutive of Marcus. Doublet of Marcellus.
/mɑɹˈsɛl/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Marcel?
#731 among boys’ names, 2025
Marcel rose from #772 in 2015 to #731 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.16 to 0.21 per 1,000.
417 babies in 2022, the peak
Marcel peaked in 2022, when 417 boys were given it, #659 among boys’ names. The 364 births of 2025 are 87% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 364 | #731 | 0.21 |
| 2024 | 339 | #755 | 0.20 |
| 2023 | 341 | #761 | 0.20 |
| 2022 | 417 | #659 | 0.24 |
| 2021 | 387 | #686 | 0.22 |
| 2020 | 373 | #686 | 0.22 |
| 2019 | 310 | #766 | 0.17 |
| 2018 | 326 | #733 | 0.18 |
| 2017 | 315 | #749 | 0.17 |
| 2016 | 317 | #766 | 0.17 |
Every recorded year (130)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 308 | #772 | 0.16 |
| 2014 | 264 | #848 | 0.14 |
| 2013 | 275 | #801 | 0.15 |
| 2012 | 238 | #882 | 0.13 |
| 2011 | 256 | #842 | 0.13 |
| 2010 | 255 | #838 | 0.13 |
| 2009 | 234 | #892 | 0.12 |
| 2008 | 260 | #839 | 0.13 |
| 2007 | 248 | #852 | 0.12 |
| 2006 | 198 | #946 | 0.10 |
| 2005 | 238 | #806 | 0.12 |
| 2004 | 212 | #839 | 0.11 |
| 2003 | 227 | #772 | 0.11 |
| 2002 | 195 | #853 | 0.10 |
| 2001 | 214 | #790 | 0.11 |
| 2000 | 227 | #747 | 0.12 |
| 1999 | 273 | #640 | 0.14 |
| 1998 | 259 | #661 | 0.14 |
| 1997 | 250 | #659 | 0.13 |
| 1996 | 276 | #627 | 0.15 |
| 1995 | 253 | #655 | 0.13 |
| 1994 | 265 | #639 | 0.14 |
| 1993 | 262 | #639 | 0.13 |
| 1992 | 336 | #557 | 0.17 |
| 1991 | 292 | #595 | 0.14 |
| 1990 | 327 | #561 | 0.16 |
| 1989 | 279 | #586 | 0.14 |
| 1988 | 278 | #551 | 0.15 |
| 1987 | 233 | #594 | 0.12 |
| 1986 | 248 | #565 | 0.13 |
| 1985 | 201 | #617 | 0.11 |
| 1984 | 191 | #619 | 0.11 |
| 1983 | 206 | #597 | 0.11 |
| 1982 | 151 | #710 | 0.08 |
| 1981 | 176 | #641 | 0.10 |
| 1980 | 176 | #658 | 0.10 |
| 1979 | 160 | #676 | 0.09 |
| 1978 | 135 | #725 | 0.08 |
| 1977 | 173 | #645 | 0.11 |
| 1976 | 167 | #636 | 0.11 |
| 1975 | 183 | #597 | 0.12 |
| 1974 | 151 | #657 | 0.10 |
| 1973 | 185 | #585 | 0.12 |
| 1972 | 202 | #564 | 0.12 |
| 1971 | 179 | #621 | 0.10 |
| 1970 | 183 | #600 | 0.10 |
| 1969 | 175 | #588 | 0.10 |
| 1968 | 162 | #595 | 0.09 |
| 1967 | 164 | #591 | 0.09 |
| 1966 | 141 | #624 | 0.08 |
| 1965 | 166 | #591 | 0.09 |
| 1964 | 148 | #640 | 0.07 |
| 1963 | 123 | #699 | 0.06 |
| 1962 | 131 | #677 | 0.06 |
| 1961 | 118 | #705 | 0.06 |
| 1960 | 123 | #704 | 0.06 |
| 1959 | 114 | #719 | 0.05 |
| 1958 | 104 | #729 | 0.05 |
| 1957 | 106 | #730 | 0.05 |
| 1956 | 121 | #683 | 0.06 |
| 1955 | 83 | #804 | 0.04 |
| 1954 | 107 | #702 | 0.05 |
| 1953 | 108 | #690 | 0.05 |
| 1952 | 108 | #668 | 0.06 |
| 1951 | 96 | #708 | 0.05 |
| 1950 | 88 | #732 | 0.05 |
| 1949 | 88 | #734 | 0.05 |
| 1948 | 110 | #643 | 0.06 |
| 1947 | 98 | #699 | 0.05 |
| 1946 | 63 | #833 | 0.04 |
| 1945 | 75 | #704 | 0.06 |
| 1944 | 48 | #928 | 0.04 |
| 1943 | 83 | #706 | 0.06 |
| 1942 | 80 | #720 | 0.06 |
| 1941 | 59 | #831 | 0.05 |
| 1940 | 53 | #867 | 0.05 |
| 1939 | 76 | #683 | 0.07 |
| 1938 | 70 | #733 | 0.06 |
| 1937 | 69 | #736 | 0.06 |
| 1936 | 57 | #814 | 0.05 |
| 1935 | 70 | #736 | 0.07 |
| 1934 | 100 | #591 | 0.10 |
| 1933 | 79 | #663 | 0.08 |
| 1932 | 114 | #554 | 0.11 |
| 1931 | 113 | #552 | 0.11 |
| 1930 | 129 | #527 | 0.12 |
| 1929 | 128 | #519 | 0.12 |
| 1928 | 134 | #523 | 0.12 |
| 1927 | 142 | #509 | 0.13 |
| 1926 | 121 | #561 | 0.11 |
| 1925 | 148 | #500 | 0.13 |
| 1924 | 142 | #530 | 0.13 |
| 1923 | 145 | #510 | 0.13 |
| 1922 | 114 | #607 | 0.10 |
| 1921 | 101 | #637 | 0.09 |
| 1920 | 106 | #613 | 0.10 |
| 1919 | 100 | #607 | 0.10 |
| 1918 | 112 | #577 | 0.11 |
| 1917 | 104 | #583 | 0.11 |
| 1916 | 74 | #692 | 0.08 |
| 1915 | 90 | #607 | 0.11 |
| 1914 | 63 | #641 | 0.10 |
| 1913 | 44 | #687 | 0.09 |
| 1912 | 28 | #846 | 0.07 |
| 1911 | 20 | #722 | 0.09 |
| 1910 | 11 | #1,018 | 0.06 |
| 1909 | 7 | #1,229 | 0.04 |
| 1908 | 8 | #1,082 | 0.05 |
| 1907 | 9 | #971 | 0.06 |
| 1906 | 9 | #895 | 0.07 |
| 1905 | 9 | #888 | 0.07 |
| 1904 | 5 | #1,330 | 0.04 |
| 1903 | 8 | #887 | 0.07 |
| 1901 | 7 | #908 | 0.07 |
| 1898 | 6 | #1,080 | 0.05 |
| 1896 | 5 | #1,203 | 0.04 |
| 1895 | 6 | #1,040 | 0.05 |
| 1892 | 7 | #916 | 0.06 |
| 1884 | 5 | #1,072 | 0.04 |
| 1881 | 5 | #962 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Marcel a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 21,123 Americans recorded as Marcel, 5% are girls and 95% boys. In 2025 it went to 364 boys; SSA lists no girls with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Marcel: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Marcel, and how old are they?
16,600 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 78% of the 21,123 Americans ever recorded as Marcel. The median Marcel alive today is 30 years old; half are between 13 and 48.
The 2020 Census counted 17,399 people named Marcel (1,026 women and girls, 16,373 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 15,097 born in the U.S. The Census count is 15% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 277 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,640 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,640 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 3,910 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 3,780 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 4,310 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Marcel born?
The states with the most babies named Marcel are Texas, California and Florida, with 37% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 47 | #646 | 0.5× |
| California | 42 | #662 | 1.2× |
| Florida | 28 | #612 | 1.2× |
| New York | 27 | #578 | 1.1× |
| Arizona | 18 | #421 | 0.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 16 | #596 | 0.6× |
| Georgia | 13 | #741 | 0.5× |
| North Carolina | 12 | #749 | 0.3× |
| New Jersey | 10 | #683 | 0.8× |
| Illinois | 9 | #908 | 1.1× |
Where Marcel is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Marcel is most over-represented in Maine: since 1910 it was given 4.4 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Marcel with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 5 names spelled alike, given to 38,889 babies since 1880, Marcel is the most given (54% of them). In 2025 it was given to 364 of their 521 babies (70%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Marcel
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Marcel and names like it
- Compare Marcel and MarcellBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sMarcel peaked in 2022.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Marcel since 1910.
- French namesWiktionary’s origin for Marcel: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2022The year the most babies were named Marcel.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Marcel alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with MMost given first.