Marcelino
Masculine · “of Mars”
Marcelino is a double diminutive — Marcus made Marcellus made Marcelino — and behind all three is Mars, who was a god of farming before he was a god of war.
How old is the name Marcelino?
Marcelino first appears in US birth records in 1888 — 137 years ago. The typical Marcelino alive today was born around 1986, making them about 39 years old. About 5,900 people named Marcelino are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Marcelino most popular?
Marcelino peaked in 1929, reaching #826 nationally. Today it ranks #1644, 818 places below that high. See the whole 1929 chart.
Marcelino appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From Mars to Marcelino
The story of Marcelino
Marcellinus was a fourth-century pope and the name of several early martyrs. Spanish, Portuguese and Italian kept Marcelino and Marcellino. A 1955 Spanish film about an orphan boy of the name was one of the great successes of its decade in Spanish-speaking countries. Spanish-speaking families brought it to America, where it is in current use.
Meaning
of Mars
From the Roman Marcellinus, a diminutive of Marcellus, itself a diminutive of Marcus, from Mars. Three layers of Roman naming stacked on one god. The derivation is undisputed; what Mars's own name meant is not recovered.
How the name formed
- Mars
- Marcus
- Marcellus
- Marcelino
Related forms: Marcelino · Marcelino · Marcellino
Pronouncing Marcelino
mar-seh-LEE-noh
Four syllables, stress on the third. Spanish says it the same way with a rolled r.
Nicknames for Marcelino
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
- 1888
- Most boys named
- 2001119 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #826reached in 1929
- Change vs 2023
- −7.3%102 in 2025, from 110
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.
Marcelino in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Marcelino in Spanish — same name
- Marcelino in Portuguese — same name
- Marcellino in Italian — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Michigan.
Marcelinos among us
people named Marcelino are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 16,746 born in 2025 was named Marcelino
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Verle test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Marcelino's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Verle climbed just as high around 1908, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Verle's path sketches the road Marcelino is walking now.
Marcelino 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 Marcelino is headed
Marcelino should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
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.
Marcelino beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Marcelino in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented Roman family name and three layers of Latin diminutive stand behind it.
- Chelino and Lino are two warm and widely used short forms.
- It is standard across Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.
- Four syllables make it long for everyday use.
- Marcelo and Marcellino are close enough to cause confusion.
- English speakers will need the stress explained.
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What they receive
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Marcelino
Masculine · #1644 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Marcelinos are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 5,900 people named Marcelino are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Marcelino in 2025?
- Marcelino ranks #1644 among US boy names in 2025, with 102 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Marcelino?
- About 1 in every 16,746 US boys born in 2025 was named Marcelino — 102 in all.
- Will my child share the name Marcelino with classmates?
- Marcelino will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Marcelino
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Reynaldo#1644 · Craig#1644 · Eamon#1644 · Nikola#1644 · Levon#1644 · Elvin#1644 · Woodrow#1644 · Daemon#1644
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Marcelino? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Marcelino and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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