Marcela
A Latin name meaning "little warrior", the girl's form tied to Mars, the Roman god of war. It stays rare in Poland: only a few thousand women carry it, and most people here have never met one.
Marcela Pronunciation
Marcela is pronounced mahr-TSE-lah (/marˈt͡sɛla/).
What Marcela means
Where Marcela comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Marcela comes from Latin, from Marcellus, a diminutive of Marcus. That older name reaches back to Mars, the Roman god of war, which is why Marcela is glossed as belonging to Mars, a little warrior. The warrior sense lives inside the diminutive, a small one still named for the god.
The name keeps close relatives. Marcelina is the fuller variant, softer at the ending, while Marcel carries the same root across to boys. Behind all three stands one common Roman name, Marcus, worn by senators and foot soldiers alike.
On a Polish class register, a Marcela may sit a line above a Marcelina, both tracing to that Roman root. She has two name-days to pick from, the 31st of January and the 28th of July.
When Marcela celebrates name day
Marcela appears 2 times in the Polish name day calendar, 1 of them as a main name, the first on 31 January.
The days Polish calendars list this name on. By custom you celebrate one of them, usually the first after your birthday.
Rarer dates. Only the most complete calendars add this name on these days. Most skip them, so hardly anyone celebrates then.
How many people are named Marcela
1 in 6920 women in Poland is named Marcela. 3,258 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #571 among female names.
Marcela's popularity over time
26 girls were given the name in 2025, ranking #466 among newborns. It has been falling steadily since 2000.
Where parents choose Marcela
Marcela is most popular in Lower Silesian, 74% above the national average (19 girls born 2019–2025), followed by Lublin (+68%) and Greater Poland (+61%). It is least common in Łódź and Podlaskie, 77% and 56% below average respectively.
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Lower Silesian
+74%1 in 8,270 babies
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Lublin
+68%1 in 8,556 babies
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Greater Poland
+61%1 in 8,968 babies
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Łódź
−77%1 in 63,359 babies
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Podlaskie
−56%1 in 32,893 babies
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Holy Cross
−48%1 in 27,717 babies
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Lower Silesian+74% 19 born1 in 8,270 babies+74%
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Lublin+68% 12 born1 in 8,556 babies+68%
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Greater Poland+61% 24 born1 in 8,968 babies+61%
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Pomeranian+37% 14 born1 in 10,523 babies+37%
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West Pomeranian+37% 8 born1 in 10,553 babies+37%
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Warmian-Masurian+20% 6 born1 in 11,966 babies+20%
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Lubusz+16% 4 born1 in 12,414 babies+16%
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Masovian+10% 27 born1 in 13,121 babies+10%
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Silesian−18% 13 born1 in 17,506 babies−18%
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Subcarpathian−28% 6 born1 in 20,094 babies−28%
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Lesser Poland−30% 11 born1 in 20,629 babies−30%
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Holy Cross−48% 2 born1 in 27,717 babies−48%
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Podlaskie−56% 2 born1 in 32,893 babies−56%
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Łódź−77% 2 born1 in 63,359 babies−77%
Marcela as a middle name
Marcela is a first name for 3,258 women in Poland and a middle name for another 1,659, a 66/34 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 206th, between Ida (1,675) and Adelajda (1,646).
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#204 Emma1,696
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#205 Ida1,675
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#206 Marcela1,659
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#207 Adelajda1,646
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#208 Rose1,637