Marcela
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Meaning
feminine form of Marcellus, from Latin Marcus, traditionally 'dedicated to Mars'
Marcela across languages
One shared root links 19 names across 8 languages.
Shared root: from Latin Marcus, a Roman praenomen traditionally derived from Mars, the war god; Marcellus is its diminutive
The constellation
11 more branches of this family
How popular is Marcela around the world?
In the United States, 778 babies were named Marcela between 2020 and 2025. At the 2022 census, 145,029 people in Brazil were named Marcela, the 232nd most common name, with a median age of 29.
Marcela is on the official records of the United States, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Chile, Mexico City, Spain, Poland, Argentina, Montevideo, Scotland, Austria and England and Wales.
Marcela crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of a Spanish-speaking record and of Brazil’s 2022 census, which counts people of every age. The full list: Spanish and Portuguese
United States
1 in 28,000
In the United States, 778 babies were named Marcela between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Marcela peaked in the 1980s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Brazil
1 in 1,400
At the 2022 census, 145,029 people in Brazil were named Marcela, the 232nd most common name, with a median age of 29.
Among people named Marcela living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 3,563 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Puerto Rico
1 in 2,000
In Puerto Rico, 9 babies were named Marcela in 2025, and 155 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Chile
1 in 5,400
In Chile, 33 girls were registered as Marcela in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Mexico City City
1 in 5,600
In Mexico City, there were 21 registrations of Marcela in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (2 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Spain
1 in 9,200
In Spain, 4,893 residents are named Marcela, the 473rd most common name among women, with a mean age of 48.4 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Poland
1 in 9,500
In Poland, 26 girls named Marcela were born in 2025, the 235th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Argentina
1 in 11,000
In Argentina, 63 newborns were given the name Marcela in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Montevideo City
1 in 12,0002011
In Montevideo, 2 girls named Marcela were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Scotland
1 in 15,000
In Scotland, 3 girls named Marcela were registered in 2024, the 790th most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 girl named Marcela was born in 2025, ranked 1,875th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
England and Wales
1 in 120,000
In England and Wales, 5 girls named Marcela were born in 2025, ranked 4,201st among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Canada
last on record 2023
Marcela is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Ireland
last on record 2014
Marcela is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
South Australia
last on record 1998
Marcela is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in New Zealand: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Marcela
Most people given the name Marcela in the United States were born between 1980 and 2009. The Marcela you meet today is most often in her 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Marcela deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Marcela truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Marcela fits with your family’s names and surname.
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