Markos
Masculine · “Of Mars”
Markos is Mark in Greek, and it has been in continuous use since the evangelist wrote the shortest of the four gospels. The -os is the Greek nominative ending; strip it and you have the Latin Marcus underneath, one of the oldest Roman first names still in daily use.
How old is the name Markos?
Markos first appears in US birth records in 1965 — 60 years ago. The typical Markos alive today was born around 2005, making them about 20 years old. About 1,000 people named Markos are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Markos most popular?
Markos peaked in 1995, reaching #2762 nationally. Today it ranks #5208, 2,446 places below that high. See the whole 1995 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Marcus to Markos
The story of Markos
Marcus was among the handful of Roman first names in ordinary use — Gaius, Lucius, Marcus, Publius — and it passed into Greek as Markos. The evangelist Mark, traditionally the interpreter of Peter and the founder of the church at Alexandria, made it a Christian name across the whole Mediterranean. Greek usage has been unbroken ever since, and Markos Botsaris, the Souliote captain killed in 1823, made it a name of the Greek War of Independence. American records carry it with Greek immigration from the late nineteenth century, and its small modern peak in the 1990s belongs to Greek-American families keeping the Greek spelling rather than settling for Mark.
Meaningscholars disagree
Of Mars, or hammer
Marcus is one of the small set of Roman praenomina, and its etymology is not settled. The usual reading connects it to Mars, the war god, through an adjective form. A minority derivation links it to Latin marcus, a hammer. Both are old proposals and neither is proved; what is certain is that the name is Italic and pre-Christian.
How the name formed
- Marcus
- Markos
- Mark
Related forms: Μάρκος · Marcus · Mark · Marco · Marcos · Mark
Pronouncing Markos
MAR-kos
Two syllables, stress on the first, with the final s fully pronounced. Modern Greek gives the o a clear round value rather than the reduced English one.
Nicknames for Markos
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
- 1965
- Most boys named
- 200841 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2762reached in 1995
- Change vs 2024
- +12.5%18 in 2025, from 16
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.
Markos in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Μάρκος in Greek — transliteration
- Marcus in Latin — related form
- Mark in English — same name
- Marco in Italian — related form
- Marcos in Spanish — spelling variant
- Mark in Russian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Florida, Texas.
Markoss among us
people named Markos are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 94,893 born in 2025 was named Markos
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Markos
- #5208
- Markos on the 2025 chart
- #462
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Markos went to 18 boys in 2025, but Marcos is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 597, which makes it the 462nd most-given boys’ name of the year — 4,746 places above the chart.
- Marcos579
- Markos18
About 1 boy in 2,861 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 94,893 for Markos 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 Keithen test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Markos's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Keithen climbed just as high around 1967, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Keithen's path sketches the road Markos is walking now.
Markos 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
Markos beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Markos in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is a two-thousand-year-old name with unbroken use in Greek.
- Mark is available instantly as an English everyday form.
- Everyone can say it correctly on sight.
- Marcos, Markos and Marco are close enough to be constantly confused.
- The final s makes it look like a plural or a surname to American eyes.
- The meaning is not settled, despite how well documented the name is.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Markos to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Markos? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Markos
Masculine · #5208 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Markoss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Markos are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Markos?
- Markos is one of 2 recorded spellings. Marcos is the more common one — 579 births in 2025 against 18 for Markos.
- How popular is the name Markos in 2025?
- Markos ranks #5208 among US boy names in 2025, with 18 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Markos?
- About 1 in every 94,893 US boys born in 2025 was named Markos — 18 in all.
- Will my child share the name Markos with classmates?
- Markos will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Markos
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rodger#5208 · Eusebio#5208 · Boy#5208 · Randal#5208 · Gable#5208 · Jessy#5208 · Kelby#5208 · Jens#5208
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Markos? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Markos and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
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
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle