Given name & surname
Mark
“dedicated to Mars, the god of war”
Mark is used as a given name and a surname. One Latin interpretation is “dedicated to Mars, the god of war.”
Original LatinMarcus
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Latin interpretation is “dedicated to Mars, the god of war.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Latin.
How it developed
In Estonian usage, Mark is a short form of Markus. In Dutch usage, Mark developed from the Latin form Marcus.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Mark appears in 1 Peter 5:13, Acts 13:13, Colossians 4:10 and 4 other passages.
- 1 Peter 5:13
- Acts 13:13
- Colossians 4:10
- Acts 15:37-41
- 2 Timothy 4:11
- Mark 14:51
- Acts 12:12-13
From biblical name research
Mark through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,366,672
- 1,362,176 boys · 4,496 girls
- Most popular year
- 1960
- 58,860 babies
- 2025
- 1,416
- #245 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −22%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,416 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 245 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 22.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 58,727 in 1960. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (188). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,135,541 as a first name in 2020; 13,732 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.
Mark’s family of names
In Estonian usage, Mark is a short form of Markus. In Dutch usage, Mark developed from the Latin form Marcus. In English usage, Mark has a related form in Marc.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Mark has relatives in 50 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 43
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Marcusvariant · Latin, Danish
- Mackvariant · German
- Marcvariant · English, Scottish Gaelic
- Markusvariant · German, Estonian
- Markovariant · Estonian, Albanian
- Markelvariant
- Markellvariant
- Markosvariant · Albanian, English
Show 35 moreShow fewer
- Markiediminutive · English
- Marxvariant
- Mmarklikely variant
- Markklikely variant
- Marrklikely variant
- Marqvariant · English
- Margusvariant · Estonian
- Markydiminutive · English
- Marklevariant · German
- Marquevariant · English
- Markeavariant
- Markeevariant
- Markivariant · Albanian
- Markeyvariant
- Markevariant · German
- Teflon Marknickname
- ⲙⲁⲣⲕⲱvariant · onw
- ⲙⲁⲣⲕⲟvariant · onw
- Merkelevariant · German
- Merglevariant · German
- Mercheldiminutive · Polish
- Meresdiminutive · Polish
- Merkvariant · English
- Mergelevariant · German
- Merklevariant · German
- Mercklevariant · German
- Märklevariant · German
- Markmannvariant · German
- Markovvariant
- Markjesdiminutive · Dutch
- Markjediminutive · Dutch
- Markwardfull form · German, übersetzungen umleiten
- Markolffull form · German, übersetzungen umleiten
- Germanicfull form · German
- Markvardfull form · Danish
Spellings & scripts 4
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 40
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Margocognate · Latin
- Marcocognate · German, Portuguese
- Marcosrelated form · Spanish, ceb
- Marekrelated form · Polish, Czech
- Marciaequivalent
- Makequivalent
- MalekoHawaiian
- Markasequivalent
Show 32 moreShow fewer
- MarksLatvian
- Marcascognate · Irish
- Márkusequivalent
- മാർക്കോസ്equivalent
- ܡܪܩܘܣequivalent
- ماركequivalent
- Маркоequivalent
- مرقسequivalent
- Mårequivalent
- Maakaequivalent
- Morkusequivalent
- Marcantonioequivalent
- Marcouequivalent
- Markkanenderivative · Finnish
- 馬克borrowing · Chinese
- MākaMāori
- ՄարկոսArmenian
- MarcuRomanian
- مارکPersian
- ⲙⲁⲣⲕⲟⲥCoptic, onw
- ꓟ-ꓘꓳlis
- MåWalloon
- ΜάρκοςGreek
- MarkysManx
- マークJapanese
- Markkucognate · Finnish
- מרקוסAramaic
- MárkHungarian
- MarkúsIcelandic
- Markkoizh
- ΜᾶρκοςAncient Greek
- Markucognate
People named Mark
- Mark TwainAmerican author and humorist (1835–1910)
- Mark ZuckerbergAmerican Internet entrepreneurborn 1984
- Mark RutteSecretary General of NATO since 2024 and former Prime Minister of the Netherlands (2010–2024)born 1967
- Vin DieselAmerican actor (born 1967)
- Mark WahlbergAmerican actor (born 1971)
- Mark Carney24th prime minister of Canada since 2025born 1965
- Mark RuffaloAmerican actor (born 1967)
- Mark HamillAmerican actor (born 1951)
- Mark RothkoAmerican painter of Latvian-Jewish descent (1903–1970)
Characters named Mark: Mr. Satan (Dragon Ball), Mark Hoffman (fictional human), Mark Sloan (fictional surgeon from Grey's Anatomy).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Mark, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Martin
“dedicated to Mars, the god of war”
>99% boys
Jay
“resembling a jaybird” · “one who is victorious”
99% boys · 1% girls
Paul
“small” · “a small or humble man”
>99% boys
Russell
“a little red-haired boy”
>99% boys
Vincent
“conquering” · “one who prevails; the conquerer”
>99% boys
Philip
“one who loves horses”
>99% boys
Johnny
“God is gracious”
99% boys · 1% girls
Marshall
“shoeing smith” · “a caretaker of horses”
>99% boys