Head to head · Boys' names
Marcus vs Omar
#258 vs #260 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Marcus is a whisker ahead (#258 vs #260 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name 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, Marcus leads 4 measures of 6; Omar 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: Marcus #258, Omar #550 — Marcus higher
- 1890s: Marcus #279, Omar #571 — Marcus higher
- 1900s: Marcus #290, Omar #753 — Marcus higher
- 1910s: Marcus #321, Omar #655 — Marcus higher
- 1920s: Marcus #334, Omar #721 — Marcus higher
- 1930s: Marcus #365, Omar #889 — Marcus higher
- 1940s: Marcus #349, Omar #963 — Marcus higher
- 1950s: Marcus #249, Omar #850 — Marcus higher
- 1960s: Marcus #192, Omar #605 — Marcus higher
- 1970s: Marcus #71, Omar #245 — Marcus higher
- 1980s: Marcus #64, Omar #188 — Marcus higher
- 1990s: Marcus #83, Omar #146 — Marcus higher
- 2000s: Marcus #114, Omar #144 — Marcus higher
- 2010s: Marcus #171, Omar #214 — Marcus higher
- 2020s: Marcus #242, Omar #258 — Marcus higher
Marcus stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Marcus | Omar |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #258 | #550 |
| 1890s | #279 | #571 |
| 1900s | #290 | #753 |
| 1910s | #321 | #655 |
| 1920s | #334 | #721 |
| 1930s | #365 | #889 |
| 1940s | #349 | #963 |
| 1950s | #249 | #850 |
| 1960s | #192 | #605 |
| 1970s | #71 | #245 |
| 1980s | #64 | #188 |
| 1990s | #83 | #146 |
| 2000s | #114 | #144 |
| 2010s | #171 | #214 |
| 2020s | #242 | #258 |
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
Marcus
of Mars
The name belongs to the god of war and the reading is settled, though what it meant to give a child that name in Rome is less obvious than it looks: the god was as much an agricultural deity as a military one, and the month named for him opened the campaigning season and the sowing season at once.
One of a very short list of Roman first names → Abbreviated to a single letter in inscriptions → Carried by an emperor, an evangelist and a general → In continuous English use since the Renaissance
How it traveled
One bearer wrote a book he never meant anybody to see. He was an emperor on campaign, writing in Greek rather than his own language, addressing nobody, giving the thing no title, and repeating himself in the way people do in private notebooks: reminders to be patient, to expect ingratitude, to remember that everybody involved will shortly be dead.
Omar
flourishing, long-lived
The Arabic name ʿUmar comes from the root ʿ-m-r, which carries ideas of life, long life, and thriving habitation. A separate and much rarer Omar appears in Genesis as a grandson of Esau; that Hebrew name's meaning has never been established, and it is not the source of the modern name.
ʿUmar (Arabic) → Umar → Omar
How it traveled
Omar is the English and Spanish spelling of the Arabic ʿUmar. Its standing in the Muslim world rests largely on ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab, the second caliph, who ruled in the seventh century — since then it has been among the most-given names from Morocco to Indonesia.
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
Marcus
MAR-kus
Two syllables, stress on the first. Latin said it the same way; the ending is the standard masculine case ending, which English kept here and dropped from most other Roman names it borrowed.
- Mark — The English form, and a complete name in its own right.
- Marc — The French spelling of the same, common in America too.
- Cus — The back alone, which is unusual and reads as a surname.
Omar
OH-mar
The standard American pronunciation stresses the first syllable. In Arabic it is closer to OO-mar, with the stress falling differently and an opening consonant English does not have; Spanish speakers often say oh-MAR. All are correct in their own settings, and families usually pick one and let the other pass.
- O — An initial used informally among friends and teammates; not a name anyone is registered under.
- Omi — A family-level diminutive heard in some Arabic- and Spanish-speaking households; rarely used outside the home.
- Momo — A playful reshaping used within families and friend groups, more common among children than adults.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Marcus if you want…
- a name holding steadyMarcus is holding its place on the charts
Choose Omar if you want…
On the measures here, the records do not separate Omar from Marcus.
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
Marcus
Strengths
- It has been in continuous use for well over two thousand years.
- Mark and Marc are both available as short forms and both stand alone.
- It works across English, Spanish, Italian and German alike.
To consider
- Marcus and Markus are both in use and will be exchanged in writing.
- The meaning is a war god, which some families weigh and most do not.
- The spelling appears on the register for both sexes in small numbers.
Omar
Strengths
- Spelled the way it is said in English, with no silent letters and no fork in the road between two common spellings.
- Works unaltered in Arabic-, Spanish-, and English-speaking settings, which matters in households that live in more than one of them.
- On US records continuously across generations rather than arriving in a single wave, so it reads as neither dated nor new.
To consider
- There is no established short form. Omar is what he will be called at home, at school, and at work — fine for many families, but worth knowing if you like having a nickname in reserve.
- Because of ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab, the name carries strong Sunni associations and is given far less often in Shia families. If that distinction matters in your family, it is worth talking through early.
- Expect a lifetime of small pronunciation negotiations: OH-mar, oh-MAR, and the Arabic ʿUmar are all in circulation, and people will guess based on their own background.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Marcus
25%chance Marcus feels dated by 2040
Marcus peaked long ago yet still holds steady — names that survive their own wave usually settle into quiet, durable classics.
Omar
40%chance Omar feels dated by 2040
Omar 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.
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 Marcus and Omar 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 Marcus and Omar?
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.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
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 that begin and end with the same letter
- Video game names in real use
- Ancient Roman names in modern use
- Names ending in -s
- all guides
Where Marcus and Omar each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Marcus or Omar — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Marcus or Omar?
- Marcus, in 2025: Marcus ranked #258 with 1,341 babies; Omar ranked #260 with 1,333 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Marcus or Omar?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Marcus moved down 32 places; Omar moved down 6 places.
- Which is the older name, Marcus or Omar?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Marcus and Omar?
- About 218,000 people named Marcus are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 101,000 people named Omar are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Marcuss or Omars in the classroom?
- Marcus will almost certainly be the only one in school. Omar 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 Marcus, Omar and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap