Head to head · Boys' names
Kyrie vs Mark
#244 vs #244 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Kyrie and Mark share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#244). The records cannot split them; sound and story will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Mark leads 3 measures of 6; Kyrie leads 0.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Kyrie —, Mark #147 — Mark higher
- 1890s: Kyrie —, Mark #160 — Mark higher
- 1900s: Kyrie —, Mark #190 — Mark higher
- 1910s: Kyrie —, Mark #204 — Mark higher
- 1920s: Kyrie —, Mark #208 — Mark higher
- 1930s: Kyrie —, Mark #184 — Mark higher
- 1940s: Kyrie —, Mark #81 — Mark higher
- 1950s: Kyrie —, Mark #12 — Mark higher
- 1960s: Kyrie —, Mark #7 — Mark higher
- 1970s: Kyrie —, Mark #20 — Mark higher
- 1980s: Kyrie #6369, Mark #34 — Mark higher
- 1990s: Kyrie #3988, Mark #54 — Mark higher
- 2000s: Kyrie #4261, Mark #115 — Mark higher
- 2010s: Kyrie #831, Mark #190 — Mark higher
- 2020s: Kyrie #232, Mark #245 — Kyrie higher
Mark stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Kyrie took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Kyrie | Mark |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #147 |
| 1890s | — | #160 |
| 1900s | — | #190 |
| 1910s | — | #204 |
| 1920s | — | #208 |
| 1930s | — | #184 |
| 1940s | — | #81 |
| 1950s | — | #12 |
| 1960s | — | #7 |
| 1970s | — | #20 |
| 1980s | #6369 | #34 |
| 1990s | #3988 | #54 |
| 2000s | #4261 | #115 |
| 2010s | #831 | #190 |
| 2020s | #232 | #245 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Kyrie
"Lord" — literally "O Lord," a direct form of address
From Greek kyrios, "lord, master." Kyrie is its vocative case, the form used when speaking to someone, which is why it survives in the prayer Kyrie eleison — "Lord, have mercy."
kyrios (Greek, "lord") → kyrie (Greek vocative, "O Lord") → Kyrie eleison (Christian liturgy) → Kyrie
How it traveled
The word belongs to ancient Greek, where kyrios meant lord or master and kyrie was how you addressed one. Early Christian worship in the Greek-speaking East used the plea Kyrie eleison, and when the liturgy of Rome moved into Latin, that petition stayed in Greek — the Kyrie became the first movement of the sung Mass and has been set to music by essentially every composer who wrote one.
Mark
of Mars
Marcus is generally read as belonging to Mars, and the derivation is standard though, like most very old Roman praenomina, reconstructed rather than recorded. Mars himself changed considerably over Roman history: he begins as a god of agriculture and boundaries and becomes the god of war, which means the name's association shifted underneath it. The month of March carries the same name.
Marcus → Marcus → Mark
How it traveled
The Gospel of Mark is the shortest of the four and almost certainly the first written; the other two synoptic Gospels appear to have used it as a source, which makes it the earliest sustained account of Jesus that survives. Tradition connects its author to Peter.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Kyrie
KY-ree
KY-ree (rhyming with "eerie" after a long i) is the standard American pronunciation for the name, and the one the basketball player uses. Sung in church, the same spelling is KEER-ee-ay — three syllables. Expect both, and expect to correct one of them.
- Ky — The most common short form in American use; also given on its own as a full name.
- Kye — Same sound as Ky, written out; informal, and used independently as a given name too.
- Rie — Rare, family-level nickname taken from the second half of the name.
Mark
MARK
MARK, one syllable, rhyming with dark. French drops the k sound and says MAHR; Italian and Spanish add a syllable. The English reading has been stable for many centuries and there has never been any ambiguity in it.
- Marky — The name softened, which belongs to childhood in most households.
- Marco — The Italian form used as a nickname, which travels well beyond Italian families.
Who has carried each name
Kyrie
Kyrie Irving (b. 1992) — NBA champion with dazzling handles
Mark
Mark Twain (b. 1835) — America's greatest humorist, creator of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn
Mark Zuckerberg (b. 1984) — Built Facebook in his dorm room
Mark Ruffalo (b. 1967) — Marvel's Hulk
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Kyrie if you want…
- a name holding steadyKyrie is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itKyrie runs 2 syllables, Mark 1
- a newer arrivalKyrie entered the US charts in 1986
- a name that feels very nowKyrie is holding its place on the charts
Choose Mark if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesMark is 1 syllable to Kyrie's 2
- a long American recordMark was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 40% for Kyrie
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Kyrie
Strengths
- Short, two syllables, and it yields ready-made nicknames in Ky and Kye that already stand alone as names.
- The spelling is fixed and already familiar to two very different audiences: anyone who follows basketball, and anyone who has sung a Mass.
- Documented as a word since ancient Greek and in continuous liturgical use for well over a thousand years, so it has depth behind a recent arrival.
To consider
- Two live pronunciations compete: KY-ree from the name's American use, KEER-ee-ay from the sung prayer. Whichever you choose, some people will arrive with the other one.
- The link to one very famous basketball player is strong right now, which means the name may be read as a sports reference first — comfortable for some families, less so for others.
- It is a word of address from Christian liturgy. Many people find that moving; some churchgoers find using a prayer word as a personal name uncomfortable, and it is worth knowing which camp your relatives fall into.
Mark
Strengths
- One syllable, four letters, understood instantly in every European language.
- It is one of only a handful of Roman first names still in ordinary use anywhere.
- It needs no short form and has never acquired one, which suits people who dislike being shortened.
To consider
- The word mark is an ordinary English noun and verb, which gets played on regularly.
- It is strongly associated with the middle of the last century in America and dates a person fairly closely.
- A great many people carry it, so a Mark will rarely be the only one in a workplace.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Kyrie
40%chance Kyrie feels dated by 2040
Kyrie sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Mark
12%chance Mark feels dated by 2040
Mark has held the top-100 across 6 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Kyrie and Mark in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Kyrie and Mark?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Names ending in -ie
- Short and sweet: names of four letters or fewer
- The top-10 club: every name that made it
- The steadiest names in America
- all guides
Where Kyrie and Mark each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Kyrie or Mark — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Kyrie or Mark?
- They tie in 2025: Kyrie ranked #244 with 1,416 babies; Mark ranked #244 with 1,416 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Kyrie or Mark?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Kyrie moved down 20 places; Mark moved down 9 places.
- Which is the older name, Kyrie or Mark?
- Kyrie entered the US charts in 1986; Mark was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Mark is the older name.
- How many people are named Kyrie and Mark?
- About 18,500 people named Kyrie are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 1,112,000 people named Mark are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Kyries or Marks in the classroom?
- Kyrie will almost certainly be the only one in school. Mark will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Kyrie, Mark and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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