Mark
Masculine · “of Mars”
Mark is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 1,362,176 boys against 4,496 girls since 1880. See Mark as a girl name
Mark is one of very few Roman first names still in use. Rome had about eighteen of them in general circulation, which is why the same handful turn up constantly in Latin texts, and Marcus was among the commonest — a name given to Mars, the god who began as an agricultural deity and ended up in charge of war.
How old is the name Mark?
Mark was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Mark alive today was born around 1963, making them about 62 years old. About 1,112,000 people named Mark are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Mark most popular?
Mark peaked in 1959, reaching #6 nationally. Today it ranks #244, 238 places below that high. See the whole 1959 chart.
Where it comes from
From Marcus to Mark
The story of Mark
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. That put the name into every Christian language, and it has been in continuous English use since the Middle Ages without ever belonging to a single period. Of the eighteen Roman first names, this and Paul are the two that a modern English speaker meets daily.
Meaningscholars disagree
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.
Cultural footprint
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.
How the name formed
- Marcus
- Marcus
- Mark
Related forms: Marco · Marcos · Marc · Mark · Marek
Pronouncing 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.
Nicknames for Mark
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 196058,727 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #6reached in 1959
- Change vs 2022
- −1.3%1,416 in 2025, from 1,434
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Mark in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Marco in Italian — same name
- Marcos in Spanish — same name
- Marc in French — same name
- Mark in Russian — same name
- Marek in Polish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Marks among us
people named Mark are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 1,206 born in 2025 was named Mark
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Mark
- #244
- Mark on the 2025 chart
- #229
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Mark went to 1,416 boys in 2025, but Marc and Marck are the same name said out loud. Together the 3 spellings went to 1,588, which makes it the 229th most-given boys’ name of the year — 15 places above the chart.
About 1 boy in 1,076 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 1,206 for Mark itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Donald test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Mark's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Donald climbed just as high around 1934, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Donald's path sketches the road Mark is walking now.
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 scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Mark is headed
Mark should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Mark beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Mark in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- 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.
- It has been in continuous English use for many centuries without belonging to one decade.
- 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.
- This spelling is recorded for girls too, though so rarely that a girl named Mark will be read as a boy on every form; Marcia carries the same root without that.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Mark to the vote.
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What they receive
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Mark
Masculine · #244 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Marks are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,112,000 people named Mark are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Mark?
- Mark is the most-used spelling in US records — 1,416 of the 1,588 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Marc and Marck.
- How popular is the name Mark in 2025?
- Mark ranks #244 among US boy names in 2025, with 1,416 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Mark?
- About 1 in every 1,206 US boys born in 2025 was named Mark — 1,416 in all.
- Will my child share the name Mark with classmates?
- Mark will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Mark
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Kyrie#244 · Ellis#243 · Milan#242 · Shepherd#246 · Ronan#247 · Adonis#241 · Warren#240 · Cade#248
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Mark? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Mark and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Or jump into a head-to-head
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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