Markis
Masculine · “Germanic marka”
A marquess governed a border. The title comes from the Germanic word for a boundary, a march, so a marquis outranked a count because frontier commands carried more troops and more risk. Denmark is the Danes' march, and so is the Welsh Marches.
How old is the name Markis?
Markis first appears in US birth records in 1970 — 55 years ago. The typical Markis alive today was born around 1998, making them about 27 years old. About 900 people named Markis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Markis most popular?
Markis peaked in 1990, reaching #2012 nationally. Today it ranks #9714, 7,702 places below that high. See the whole 1990 chart.
Where it comes from
From marka to Markis
The story of Markis
Marka is the Germanic word for a boundary or the land along one, and it produced a family of terms across Europe. A march was a frontier province: the Welsh Marches between England and Wales, the Marches of Italy, the Spanish March established by Charlemagne, the Ostmark that became Austria. Its ruler was a markgraf in German, a marchese in Italian, a marquis in French, and the rank sat high precisely because border commands needed unusual military independence. Denmark is the mark of the Danes. The English word mark, a sign or a boundary stone, is the same root, as are margin and demarcate. So a title that now means a middling grade of nobility began as a job description for the man responsible for the edge of the kingdom, and the vocabulary of frontiers is embedded in the map of Europe.
Meaning
Germanic marka, a border or boundary
Markis is a respelling of Marquis, from Old French marchis, the ruler of a march or border province, from Germanic marka, a boundary. The title ranks between duke and count in most European systems. The same root gives march, mark, margrave and the second element of Denmark. The American peak of this spelling is 1990.
How the name formed
- marka
- marchis
- Marquis
- Markis
Related forms: Marquis · Markiss · Marchese
Pronouncing Markis
mar-KEES
Two syllables, stress on the second. Marquis in English is often said MAR-kwis for the title and mar-KEES for the name, which is a French pronunciation.
Nicknames for Markis
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
- 1970
- Most boys named
- 199037 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2012reached in 1990
- Change vs 2022
- −30.0%7 in 2025, from 10
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.
Markis in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Marquis in English — spelling variant
- Markiss in English — spelling variant
- Marchese in Italian — related form
Markiss among us
people named Markis are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 244,011 born in 2025 was named Markis
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Primitivo test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Markis's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Primitivo climbed just as high around 1925, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Primitivo's path sketches the road Markis is walking now.
Markis 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 scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Markis beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Markis in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Mark is available as a short form and is a classic name.
- The stressed ending gives it a firm final beat.
- The spelling shows the pronunciation directly.
- Marquis is the standard spelling of the title.
- The title itself is said two different ways in English.
- The 1990 peak dates it to a narrow window.
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Markis
Masculine · #9714 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Markiss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Markis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Markis in 2025?
- Markis ranks #9714 among US boy names in 2025, with 7 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Markis?
- About 1 in every 244,011 US boys born in 2025 was named Markis — 7 in all.
- Will my child share the name Markis with classmates?
- Markis will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Markis
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Vern#9714 · Abrahm#9714 · Sid#9714 · Hartwell#9714 · Kwan#9714 · Adrean#9714 · Chancey#9714 · Bob#9714
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Markis? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Markis and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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