Marcelina
Feminine · “of Mars”
Marcelina is a diminutive of a diminutive. Marcus gave Marcellus, which was already a small form, and Spanish added -ina on top — so the name is affectionate twice over before anyone shortens it at all.
How old is the name Marcelina?
Marcelina first appears in US birth records in 1892 — 133 years ago. The typical Marcelina alive today was born around 1977, making them about 48 years old. About 2,500 people named Marcelina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Marcelina most popular?
Marcelina peaked in 1934, reaching #938 nationally. Today it ranks #2859, 1,921 places below that high. See the whole 1934 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Marcus to Marcelina
The story of Marcelina
Roman men had a startlingly short list of first names — perhaps twenty in common use — so the diminutives and the family names carried most of the work of telling people apart. Marcellus was carried by generals and later by martyrs and popes, which is how it survived into the Christian centuries. Spanish, Italian and Polish all built feminine forms, and Marcelina became an ordinary name across the Spanish-speaking world and in Poland. It reaches United States records with Mexican and Polish families in roughly equal measure.
Meaning
of Mars — through Marcus
Marcus is generally read as belonging to Mars, the Roman god of war, and it was one of a small handful of first names Roman men were permitted. Marcellus is its diminutive, and Marcelina or Marcellina is the Spanish feminine of that with a further diminutive ending. The connection to Mars is well accepted; like most very old Roman names, it is not beyond argument.
How the name formed
- Marcus
- Marcellus
- Marcelina
Related forms: Marcellina · Marcelina · Marcelina · Marcelline
Pronouncing Marcelina
mar-seh-LEE-nah
Four syllables with the stress on the third, in Spanish. In Spain the c before an e is a th sound. English speakers say mar-suh-LEE-nuh, which is close enough to pass.
Nicknames for Marcelina
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1892
- Most girls named
- 202559 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #938reached in 1934
- Change vs 2022
- +34.1%59 in 2025, from 44
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Marcelina in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Marcellina in Italian — spelling variant
- Marcelina in Polish — same name
- Marcelina in Portuguese — same name
- Marcelline in French — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Illinois.
Marcelinas among us
people named Marcelina are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 27,242 born in 2025 was named Marcelina
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Marcelina
- #2859
- Marcelina on the 2025 chart
- #894
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Marcelina went to 59 girls in 2025, but Marcellina is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 66, which makes it the 894th most-given girls’ name of the year — 1,965 places above the chart.
- Marcelina59
- Marcellina7
About 1 girl in 24,353 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 27,242 for Marcelina itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Vernia test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Marcelina's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Vernia climbed just as high around 1904, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Vernia's path sketches the road Marcelina is walking now.
Marcelina sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Marcelina is headed
Marcelina looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 27% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Marcelina beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Marcelina in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented Roman origin with an unbroken record into several living languages.
- Lina and Chela are two ready short forms in different registers.
- Four syllables give it real formality, with everyday forms underneath.
- Four syllables is long for daily use and the name will almost always be shortened.
- Marcelina and Marcellina are both in use and the doubled l gets added or dropped.
- It carries a distinctly early-twentieth-century flavor in American records.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Marcelina to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Marcelina? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Marcelina
Feminine · #2859 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Marcelinas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,500 people named Marcelina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Marcelina?
- Marcelina is the most-used spelling in US records — 59 of the 66 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Marcellina.
- How popular is the name Marcelina in 2025?
- Marcelina ranks #2859 among US girl names in 2025, with 59 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Marcelina?
- About 1 in every 27,242 US girls born in 2025 was named Marcelina — 59 in all.
- Will my child share the name Marcelina with classmates?
- Marcelina will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Marcelina
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Emilly#2859 · Pyper#2859 · Amarie#2859 · Luci#2859 · Issa#2859 · Azaliah#2859 · Malinda#2859 · Kyah#2859
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Marcelina? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Marcelina and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle