Head to head · Boys' names
Marco vs Miller
#370 vs #369 in 2025
Miller is a whisker ahead (#369 vs #370 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Miller is climbing the charts fast, Marco is holding its place on the charts.
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, Miller leads 4 measures of 6; Marco leads 2.
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: Marco —, Miller #638 — Miller higher
- 1890s: Marco —, Miller #694 — Miller higher
- 1900s: Marco —, Miller #655 — Miller higher
- 1910s: Marco #1133, Miller #707 — Miller higher
- 1920s: Marco #1022, Miller #785 — Miller higher
- 1930s: Marco #1099, Miller #902 — Miller higher
- 1940s: Marco #992, Miller #1084 — Marco higher
- 1950s: Marco #663, Miller #1196 — Marco higher
- 1960s: Marco #420, Miller #1538 — Marco higher
- 1970s: Marco #258, Miller #2015 — Marco higher
- 1980s: Marco #239, Miller #2528 — Marco higher
- 1990s: Marco #190, Miller #1821 — Marco higher
- 2000s: Marco #200, Miller #1340 — Marco higher
- 2010s: Marco #313, Miller #898 — Marco higher
- 2020s: Marco #384, Miller #538 — Marco higher
Marco stood higher in 9 of 15 decades; Marco has held the lead since the 1940s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Marco | Miller |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #638 |
| 1890s | — | #694 |
| 1900s | — | #655 |
| 1910s | #1133 | #707 |
| 1920s | #1022 | #785 |
| 1930s | #1099 | #902 |
| 1940s | #992 | #1084 |
| 1950s | #663 | #1196 |
| 1960s | #420 | #1538 |
| 1970s | #258 | #2015 |
| 1980s | #239 | #2528 |
| 1990s | #190 | #1821 |
| 2000s | #200 | #1340 |
| 2010s | #313 | #898 |
| 2020s | #384 | #538 |
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
Marco
Of Mars — the Roman god of war
The link between Marcus and Mars is the accepted reading. What the god's own name meant before Latin is lost, so the trail ends there rather than at a tidy translation.
Marcus → Marco → Marcos
How it traveled
Marcus was one of roughly a dozen praenomina that Roman men actually used, which is why it turns up on so many tombstones and in so many histories. Through Latin it passed into Italian as Marco, into Spanish and Portuguese as Marcos and Marco, into French as Marc and into English as Mark.
Miller
one who grinds grain — a mill worker
From Middle English millere, from the mill itself (Old English mylen, borrowed from Latin molina).
mylen (Old English, 'mill') → millere (Middle English) → Miller
How it traveled
Miller began as an occupational surname in medieval England and Scotland, given to the man who ran the mill — one of the few pieces of heavy machinery a village possessed, and one of its busiest social centers. It grew into one of the most widespread surnames in the English-speaking world, swelled further in America when German-speaking families arriving in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries translated Müller into its English twin.
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
Marco
MAR-koh
Stress on the first syllable everywhere. Italian and Spanish speakers tap or roll the r and keep the o crisp; English speakers usually flatten it to MAR-koh. Both are the same name and no one will be confused.
- Marc — Used informally in English- and French-speaking families; also stands alone as a full given name.
- Marquito — Spanish diminutive, used within families and by close friends rather than in formal settings.
- Marky — An English playground and family shortening, more common in childhood than adulthood.
- Co — A clipped household nickname, used only by people who already know him well.
Miller
MIL-er
Two syllables, stress on the first, identical to the English word miller. No ambiguity in American English.
- Millie — Informal; also a long-established given name in its own right, and the short form most likely to be reached for if Miller is a girl.
- Mills — Informal, surname-style; common among friends and teammates rather than family.
- Mill — Short and informal, mostly within the family.
- Milly — Spelling variant of Millie, used informally.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Marco if you want…
- a name holding steadyMarco is holding its place on the charts
- a newer arrivalMarco entered the US charts in 1910
Choose Miller if you want…
- a name on the way upup 329 places on the charts in five years
- a long American recordMiller was already in use when US records began in 1880
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
Marco
Strengths
- Spelled exactly as it sounds, in English, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese alike — rarely misspelled once heard.
- An unbroken record from Roman Latin to the present, with no gap where the name fell out of use.
- Two syllables and already short, so it needs no nickname to be everyday.
To consider
- The swimming-pool game means a child called Marco will hear his own name shouted across a lot of water, usually followed by "Polo." Most Marcos find this funny long before adults stop worrying about it.
- There is little room to shorten it, so the name he gets is the name he keeps. If you like a formal-and-casual pair, this one does not really offer one.
- Marcos, Marko and Mark all circle nearby, so expect the occasional form to be filled in wrong — an easy correction, but a lifelong one.
Miller
Strengths
- A spelling nearly every American already knows from the surname, so it rarely needs to be repeated or corrected.
- One clear pronunciation, with no competing versions to head off.
- Carries a ready-made short form in Millie, plus the informal Mills.
To consider
- It is a very common last name, so forms, roll calls and email systems will sometimes read it as a surname in the wrong column — and a classmate may well have it as theirs.
- Miller is also a large American beer brand, an association strong enough that adults will occasionally make the joke.
- The name leans to boys without settling there. A girl named Miller will be in the smaller group, and Millie may pull her toward a more traditionally feminine everyday name.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Marco
40%chance Marco feels dated by 2040
Marco 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.
Miller
57%chance Miller feels dated by 2040
Miller is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
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 Marco and Miller 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 Marco and Miller?
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 that carry both names
Every list here names both Marco and Miller — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Marco or Miller — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Marco or Miller?
- Miller, in 2025: Miller ranked #369 with 864 babies; Marco ranked #370 with 862 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Marco or Miller?
- Miller. Over the last five years Marco moved up 23 places; Miller moved up 329 places.
- Which is the older name, Marco or Miller?
- Marco entered the US charts in 1910; Miller was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Miller is the older name.
- How many people are named Marco and Miller?
- About 72,000 people named Marco are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 8,700 people named Miller are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Marcos or Millers in the classroom?
- Marco will almost certainly be the only one in school. Miller 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
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