Explore the Family Name Marcos

The meaning of Marcos

1. Spanish and Portuguese: from the personal name Marcos (see Mark 1). 2. Greek: variant of Markos. Some characteristic forenames: Spanish Jose, Juan, Ricardo, Jorge, Emilio, Jesus, Manuel, Pedro, Andres, Eduardo, Mario, Miguel. Portuguese Marcio.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Marcos in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Marcos has noticeably increased between 2000 and 2010. In the year 2000, the surname held the rank of 9192, but by 2010 it had climbed to 6688, a growth of 27.24%. The number of individuals with this surname also expanded from 3,263 in 2000 to 5,052 in 2010, representing an augmentation of 54.83%. This data shows that the proportion of people named Marcos per 100,000 also rose by 41.32% during this ten-year period.

20002010Change
Rank#9,192#6,68827.24%
Count3,2635,05254.83%
Proportion per 100k1.211.7141.32%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Marcos

In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census findings indicate shifts in the ethnic identity among those with the surname Marcos. While the Hispanic community bearing this surname saw an increase from 55.59% in 2000 to 62.95% in 2010, all other ethnic identities experienced declines. The percentage of White individuals with this surname fell from 24.06% to 19.42%, while Asian/Pacific Islanders dropped from 16.21% to 15.08%. Other groups such as Black, Two or more races, and American Indian and Alaskan Native also witnessed slight reductions over the decade.

20002010Change
Hispanic55.59%62.95%13.24%
White24.06%19.42%-19.29%
Asian/Pacific Islander16.21%15.08%-6.97%
Two or More Races2.97%1.46%-50.84%
Black0.89%0.83%-6.74%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.28%0.26%-7.14%

Marcos ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Marcos is Spanish & Portuguese, which comprises 30.3% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are British & Irish (14.8%) and Levantine (11.3%). Additional ancestries include Filipino & Austronesian, French & German, Indigenous American, Ashkenazi Jewish, and Italian.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
Spanish & Portuguese30.3%
British & Irish14.8%
Levantine11.3%
Other43.5%
Marcos

Possible origins of the surname Marcos

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Marcos have recent ancestry locations in Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Andalusia, Spain24.40%
Castile And Leon, Spain24.40%
Galicia, Spain24.40%
Edinburgh, United Kingdom23.20%
Greater London, United Kingdom23.20%

What Marcos haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Marcos is O-F2415, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F2415 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include E-M183 and O-F2859, which are predominantly found among people with European and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Marcos surname are: M, H, A2. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

marcosPaternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Cham

One of the many populations harboring members of haplogroup O1b1a1a1a1 is the Cham ethnic group, a group of people who speak Austronesian languages in Mainland Southeast Asia. Austronesian languages make up a language family that is extremely large and widespread, comprising over 350 million people on islands such as Madagascar, Easter Island, and many others. However, Austronesian languages are less common on mainland Asia, with a notable exception being the Chamic language. Research suggests that ancestors of the Cham people migrated from Southeast Asian islands to the mainland around the year 500 BCE, and that early Cham populations quickly began mixing with indigenous southern Vietnamese populations. As a result, the Chamic language now has words that were borrowed from languages spoken by indigenous Vietnamese people. It is likely that an ancestral Kinh population was one of the populations that mixed with the Cham people shortly after their migration to mainland Asia.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette

Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Marcos have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Marcos

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Marcos" Surname 33.3%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Marcos

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Marcos" Surname 31.2%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Marcos

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Marcos" Surname 25.9%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Marcos

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Marcos" Surname 10.0%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Marcos?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Marcos are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Spanish & Portuguese 56.3%

23andMe Users 57.2%