Marko
Masculine · “of Mars”
Marko is Mark in Slavic and Finnish, and the Latin behind it belongs to Mars — the war god who started out looking after crops.
How old is the name Marko?
Marko first appears in US birth records in 1892 — 133 years ago. The typical Marko alive today was born around 2003, making them about 22 years old. About 4,100 people named Marko are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Marko most popular?
Marko peaked in 1892, reaching #1066 nationally. Today it ranks #2056, 990 places below that high. See the whole 1892 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Mars to Marko
The story of Marko
Mark wrote the shortest and earliest gospel and is the patron of Venice, whose basilica holds relics said to be his. Marko Kraljević is the great hero of Serbian epic poetry, a historical prince turned legend. Marko is standard across Serbian, Croatian, Slovene and Finnish naming and is in current American use.
Meaning
of Mars
From the Latin Marcus, generally derived from Mars. Mars was an agricultural deity before he was a war god, and the month of March is named for him. The derivation from Mars is standard, though the god's own name has no recovered etymology. Marko is the Slavic and Finnish form.
How the name formed
- Mars
- Marcus
- Marko
Related forms: Marko · Marko · Marco · Mark
Pronouncing Marko
MAR-koh
Two syllables, stress on the first. Said nearly identically in Slavic and Finnish.
Nicknames for Marko
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
- 1892
- Most boys named
- 2013124 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1066reached in 1892
- Change vs 2023
- +7.5%72 in 2025, from 67
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.
Marko in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Marko in Croatian — same name
- Marko in Finnish — same name
- Marco in Italian — spelling variant
- Mark in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Illinois, California, New York.
Markos among us
people named Marko are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 23,723 born in 2025 was named Marko
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Marko
- #2056
- Marko on the 2025 chart
- #336
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Marko went to 72 boys in 2025, but Marco is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 934, which makes it the 336th most-given boys’ name of the year — 1,720 places above the chart.
- Marco862
- Marko72
About 1 boy in 1,829 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 23,723 for Marko 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
Fashion outlook
Marko 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
Where Marko is headed
Marko should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium 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.
Marko beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Marko in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That Mars began as an agricultural god is a first-rate fact.
- The evangelist and the great Serbian epic hero both carry it.
- It is standard across a wide band of Europe without change.
- Marco and Marko are both in circulation and differ by one letter.
- Mark is what English speakers will substitute.
- Mars's own name has no recovered etymology.
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Marko
Masculine · #2056 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Markos are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,100 people named Marko are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Marko?
- Marko is one of 2 recorded spellings. Marco is the more common one — 862 births in 2025 against 72 for Marko.
- How popular is the name Marko in 2025?
- Marko ranks #2056 among US boy names in 2025, with 72 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Marko?
- About 1 in every 23,723 US boys born in 2025 was named Marko — 72 in all.
- Will my child share the name Marko with classmates?
- Marko will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Marko
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Aylan#2056 · Lake#2056 · Alfie#2056 · Jamar#2056 · Farhan#2056 · Haider#2056 · Everardo#2056 · Hernan#2056
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Marko? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Marko and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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