Show ContentsMarco History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Italian surname Marco is a patronymic surname; that is, one created from the personal (first) name of an ancestor. In this case, the surname was created from Marco, which comes from the from Latin Marcus. As the Italian "di" means "of," we may interpret the surname as meaning "son or descendant of Marco."

Early Origins of the Marco family

The surname Marco was first found in Messina (Sicilian: Missina; Latin: Messana), capital of the province of Messina, where a family of this have long been found. The city of Messina was founded by the Greeks in the 8th century B.C., was a free city allied with Rome, and over the centuries was taken successively by the Goths, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Spaniards, and finally (in 1860) by Garibaldi and the Italians. In ancient times only persons of rank, the podesta, clergy, city officials, army officers, artists, landowners were entered into the records. To be recorded at this time, at the beginning of recorded history, was of itself a great distinction and indicative of noble ancestry. The family of this name in Sicily are said to have come from Spain sometime before the 13th century and were conjecturally descended from a 3rd century Pope Marcellus who resided in Paris.

Early History of the Marco family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Marco research. Another 98 words (7 lines of text) covering the year 1643 is included under the topic Early Marco History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Marco Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: De Marco, Marco, Marcko, Di Marco, Marcoz, De Marchi, Di Marco, Di Marko, DeMarco and many more.

Early Notables of the Marco family

Prominent among bearers of this surname in early times was

  • De Marco of Sicily, originally of Castille

Marco Ranking

In the United States, the name Marco is the 10,329th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Marco is ranked the 1,317th most popular surname with an estimated 4,301 people with that name. 2


Marco migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Marco Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Agustin Marco, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1802 3
  • Pedro Marco, who arrived in Espanola in 1812 3
  • P Marco, aged 26, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1829 3
  • P S Marco, aged 30, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1829 3
  • Fernando Marco, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1858 3
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Marco (post 1700) +

  • Paul Marco (1927-2006), American film actor
  • Tony de Marco (1902-1945), American film actor and vaudeville performer
  • Richard De Marco, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New Jersey, 1956 4
  • Guido de Marco (b. 1931), Maltese University Professor and politician, President of Malta (1999-2004)
  • José Marco Serrano, American politician, Member of the New York Senate
  • Raul Marco Sison (b. 1957), Filipino singer, actor and politician
  • Fabio Marco Giordano (b. 1983), Italian footballer
  • Gian Marco Marcucci (b. 1954), Captain Regent of San Marino in 2000
  • E. Marco Stirone, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New Jersey, 1952 (alternate), 1964 5
  • Marco Riccardi (b. 1982), Argentine former field hockey player


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  3. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 15) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  5. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 17) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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