How common is the surname Marcus?

17,671 people in the United States had the surname Marcus in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 17,472 Americans. It ranked 2,037th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Marcus?

Greil Marcus, American author, music journalist and cultural critic, followed by Ruth Barcan Marcus.

Where is the surname Marcus most common?

Wikidata records people named Marcus in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.

Is the surname Marcus getting more or less common?

More common. 17,360 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 17,671 in 2010, up 1.8%.

Is Marcus also a first name?

Yes. Marcus is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Marcus

A surname, carried by 17,671 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex M622 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Marcus is more common than 98.7% of them.

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 17,671 people named Marcus in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 17,472 Americans. That is up 1.8% since 2000, when the Census counted 17,360.

#2,037

rank among US surnames

17,671

people in 2010

6.0

per 100,000 Americans

+1.8%

change since 2000 (was #1,900)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,028	Skaggs	17,778	17,367
#2,029	Alcala	17,758	17,386
#2,030	Munson	17,745	17,399
#2,031	Eason	17,714	17,429
#2,032	Keene	17,711	17,432
#2,033	Shearer	17,707	17,436
#2,035	Cerda	17,703	17,440

Who is named Marcus

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

77% of people named Marcus identified as white (not Hispanic), 13% as Black (not Hispanic) and 7.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 77%
Black (not Hispanic) 13%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 7.2%
Two or more races 1.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.1%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Marcuss

16 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Greil Marcus
American author, music journalist and cultural critic, born 1945
Ruth Barcan Marcus
American philosopher (1921-2012)
Mr. Marcus
American pornographic actor, born 1970
James A. Marcus
Actor (1867-1937)
Bernard Marcus
American businessman, philanthropist and political donor (1929–2024)
Gary Marcus
American psycholinguist, born 1970
Egerton Marcus
Boxer, born 1965
Adam Marcus
American film director, writer and actor (1986)
Stephen Marcus
British actor, born 1962
James Marcus
British actor (1942–2020)
Richard Marcus
American actor, born 1945
Joyce Marcus
American archaeologist, born 1948

Notable Marcuss come mostly from the United States (13), the United Kingdom (2) and Canada (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Marcus

Marcus has the Soundex code M622, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code M622.

Questions

How common is the surname Marcus?: 17,671 people in the United States had the surname Marcus in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 17,472 Americans. It ranked 2,037th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Marcus?: In the 2010 Census, 77% of people named Marcus identified as white (not Hispanic), and 13% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Marcus?: Greil Marcus, American author, music journalist and cultural critic, followed by Ruth Barcan Marcus.
Where is the surname Marcus most common?: Wikidata records people named Marcus in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.
Is the surname Marcus getting more or less common?: More common. 17,360 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 17,671 in 2010, up 1.8%.
Is Marcus also a first name?: Yes. Marcus is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.