Given name & surname
Marcelo
“the little warrior”
Marcelo is a variant of Marcel. One French interpretation is “the little warrior.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Marcelo is a variant of Marcel. One French interpretation is “the little warrior.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Marcelo is a variant of Marcel. An origin associated with Marcel is Latin.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1907. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Marcelo is a variant of Marcel. The history of Marcel gives this family its wider story. Marcel’s historical associations include a 3rd-century missionary to Gaul, martyred at Bourges with his companion Anastasius.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Marcelo through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 13,231
- 13,231 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 798 babies
- 2025
- 798
- #399 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +46%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 798 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 399 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 46.0% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (204). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 20,317 as a first name in 2020; 2,779 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Marcelo’s family of names
Marcelo shares a linguistic root with Marcel. In Spanish usage, Marcelo has a conventional equivalent in the German form Markus. Marcelo has a related form in Marcel.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Marcelo has relatives in 9 languages.
6 related names in 9 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 7
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Marcelo
- MarceloBrazilian association football playerborn 1988
- Marcelo Rebelo de SousaPortuguese politician and academic, former President of Portugalborn 1948
- Marcelo BrozovićCroatian association football playerborn 1992
- Marcelo BielsaArgentinian association football player and managerborn 1955
- Marcello CaetanoPortuguese politician (1906-1980)
- Marcelo RíosChilean tennis playerborn 1975
- Marcelo H. del PilarFilipino writer, lawyer, and journalist (1850–1896)
- Marcelo Martins MorenoBolivian association football playerborn 1987
- Marcelo DíazChilean footballerborn 1986
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Marcelo, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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