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Markel

#3,110 in 2025Boys' name

Form of Marcellus

Markel has been given to 4,829 babies in the U.S. since 1948. In 2025 it ranked #3,110 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1999, with 172 recorded.

Babies named Markel, 2025

1 in 85,000

Markel over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
05010015020018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Markel: meaning, origin, and history

Form of Marcellus

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Markel means

Markel is a form of Marcellus.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Marcellus.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 4,708 boys were recorded with the name Markel between 1948 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 172 in 1999; its best national rank was #829 in 1995.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #1,841 in 2020 to #3,110 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #1,511 in 2015 to #3,110 in 2025.

In the United States, 121 girls were recorded with the name Markel between 1975 and 2005. Its highest annual count was 12 in 1990; its best national rank was #7,138 in 1990.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

How common is Markel?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 85,000
39 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 43,800
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#3,110
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
58,922 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Markel sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 58,922 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Markel. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Markels were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Markel was born before 2003 — so the typical Markel is around 22 today.

Median birth year
2003
About 22 years old
Biggest decade
2000s
30.7% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
57.1%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
4,698
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2000s — 30.7% of all recorded uses (1,447).

Is Markel rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−412
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−1,269
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−1,599
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.35×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
22.7%
Peak was 1999 (172)
Years since peak
26
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Steady
9.8% average annual change
Best rank ever
#829
1995

Spellings of Markel

Markel is not the most common spelling — Mark is, with 72.3% against Markel's 0.25%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Markel is used

Across 2016–2025, Markel was most concentrated in Mississippi — about 1 in 8,333 boys, against 1 in 29,776 across all states with data. It was least common in Ohio (1 in 100,000).

112 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Mississippi1 in 8,333
  2. 2Georgia1 in 9,091
  3. 3Florida1 in 16,667
  4. 4Louisiana1 in 16,667
  5. 5Tennessee1 in 16,667
  6. 6Alabama1 in 20,000
  7. 7South Carolina1 in 20,000
  8. 8North Carolina1 in 25,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Markel around the world

Where Markel ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2002–2021
    #3,451
    in 2021
  • France
    2006–2008
    #4,241
    in 2008

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics and Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques. ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.

Notable people named Markel

People whose public names include Markel, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Markel in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Markel. Linked forms have their own page here.

MarcelMarcellMarcelleMarcelloMarcellusMarceli

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Markel by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#3,110
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 1,269
Best rank ever
#829
1995
Peak year
1999
172 that year
First recorded
1948
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
4,708
Count in 2025
39

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#7,138
1990
Peak year
1990
12 that year
First recorded
1975
Last recorded
2005
All-time count
121
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Markel

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

MarleyMartezMariusMarinoMarkellMarlowMarcellMarkoMariaMarshalMarquezMarloMartelMarkusMarekMarvelMarwanMarquesMarquelMartellMarlanMarcelMarlinMarkos

Names with a curve like Markel

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Markel, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

BrennonMaximillianDestinTyshawnAlekFredyMiguelangelJonatanJalilJuancarlosAlexandreBraulio

Sibling names for Markel

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Markel

Top names of 1999, Markel's peak yearThe 1990s in fullOther names that peaked in 1995Boys' names starting with M