Head to head · Boys' names
Mark vs Milan
#244 vs #242 in 2025
Milan is a whisker ahead (#242 vs #244 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Milan is climbing the charts fast, Mark 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
The tape is even: Mark and Milan each lead 3 measures of 6.
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: Mark #147, Milan #836 — Mark higher
- 1890s: Mark #160, Milan #1066 — Mark higher
- 1900s: Mark #190, Milan #1225 — Mark higher
- 1910s: Mark #204, Milan #846 — Mark higher
- 1920s: Mark #208, Milan #686 — Mark higher
- 1930s: Mark #184, Milan #795 — Mark higher
- 1940s: Mark #81, Milan #921 — Mark higher
- 1950s: Mark #12, Milan #1011 — Mark higher
- 1960s: Mark #7, Milan #1172 — Mark higher
- 1970s: Mark #20, Milan #1314 — Mark higher
- 1980s: Mark #34, Milan #1549 — Mark higher
- 1990s: Mark #54, Milan #1310 — Mark higher
- 2000s: Mark #115, Milan #1247 — Mark higher
- 2010s: Mark #190, Milan #680 — Mark higher
- 2020s: Mark #245, Milan #308 — Mark higher
Mark stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Mark | Milan |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #147 | #836 |
| 1890s | #160 | #1066 |
| 1900s | #190 | #1225 |
| 1910s | #204 | #846 |
| 1920s | #208 | #686 |
| 1930s | #184 | #795 |
| 1940s | #81 | #921 |
| 1950s | #12 | #1011 |
| 1960s | #7 | #1172 |
| 1970s | #20 | #1314 |
| 1980s | #34 | #1549 |
| 1990s | #54 | #1310 |
| 2000s | #115 | #1247 |
| 2010s | #190 | #680 |
| 2020s | #245 | #308 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Mark
Not charting outside the US.
Milan
- Canada#94
- France#99
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
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.
Milan
Dear, gracious, kind — from the Slavic element mil-
Two different names share this spelling. The Slavic given name is built on mil- 'dear, gracious', the same element behind Milena, Miloš and Milica; that reading is well established. But some American parents take the name from the Italian city, whose own name goes back to Latin Mediolanum, usually read as 'in the middle of the plain'. Which meaning belongs to a particular child depends entirely on which road the family walked in on.
mil- (Slavic element, 'dear, gracious') → Milan
How it traveled
Milan is one of the old Slavic compound-style names, rooted in mil- 'dear', and it has been in continuous use as a man's name in the Czech lands, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia and Croatia for many centuries. Quite separately, English speakers have long called the Lombard city Milano by the shorter form Milan, so the word was already familiar in America as a place before it was common as a name.
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
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.
Milan
mee-LAHN
Most American families say mee-LAHN, like the city. Czech, Slovak and Serbian speakers stress the first syllable: MEE-lahn. Both are correct for the name; expect to state your preference more than once.
- Mila — The most portable short form; also a fully established given name of its own, most often for girls.
- Mile — The standard informal short form in Serbian and Croatian, where it also stands alone as a man's name.
- Milo — Used informally in English-speaking households, though Milo is a separate given name in its own right.
- Mio — An affectionate family-level shortening, not much used outside the home.
Who has carried each name
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
Milan
Milan Kundera (b. 1929) — Wrote The Unbearable Lightness of Being
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 Mark if you want…
- a name holding steadyMark is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesMark is 1 syllable to Milan'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 56% for Milan
Choose Milan if you want…
- a name on the way upup 189 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itMilan runs 2 syllables, Mark 1
- plenty of nickname options4 recorded short forms — Mila, Mile and Milo
- a name that charts abroad tooMilan is on the national lists of Canada and France
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
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.
Milan
Strengths
- Short, phonetic and spelled the way it sounds in most European languages — one of the easier names to carry across borders.
- Also charts in Canada and France, so it is recognizable well beyond US records.
- Centuries of unbroken use across Czech, Slovak, Serbian, Croatian and Slovene naming, which gives it real depth behind a modern-sounding surface.
To consider
- Two live pronunciations, mee-LAHN and MEE-lahn, both legitimate. Families with Slavic roots may say it one way and teachers another, and the correction becomes a small lifelong habit.
- Many people will hear the Italian city first and assume the name is a travel souvenir. That is a fine story if it is yours, and slightly tiring if it isn't.
- This spelling goes mostly to boys in US records, with a real minority of girls. A girl named Milan will meet forms and rosters that guessed wrong, which is manageable but worth expecting.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
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.
Milan
56%chance Milan feels dated by 2040
Milan 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 Mark and Milan 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 Mark and Milan?
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Short and sweet: names of four letters or fewer
- The top-10 club: every name that made it
- The steadiest names in America
- Midcentury modern: tomorrow's comeback bets
- all guides
Where Mark and Milan each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Mark or Milan — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Mark or Milan?
- Milan, in 2025: Milan ranked #242 with 1,418 babies; Mark ranked #244 with 1,416 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Mark or Milan?
- Milan. Over the last five years Mark moved down 9 places; Milan moved up 189 places.
- Which is the older name, Mark or Milan?
- Mark was already in use when US records began in 1880; Milan entered the US charts in 1885. On the American record, Mark is the older name.
- How many people are named Mark and Milan?
- About 1,112,000 people named Mark are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 16,000 people named Milan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Marks or Milans in the classroom?
- Mark will almost certainly be the only one in school. Milan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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