Markia
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "lofty" or "defender".
Name Census estimates that about 1,564 living Americans carry the first name Markia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Markia today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Markia births was 1996 (83 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Markia. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 219,152 Americans
Peak year
1996
83 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2019 SSA rank
#17,121
Tracked since 1975
Census
Markia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,275 people with the first name Markia, which placed it at #10,450 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#10,450
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,275 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
90.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Markia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Markia is Black at 90.3%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Markia described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Markia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.3% · 1,151
- White3.9% · 50
- Two or more races3.1% · 39
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 2
Popularity
Markia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Markia from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 673 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Markia by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Markia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Markias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. Florida, Georgia, Maryland recorded the most babies named Markia, while Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Markia
The name Markia is a variation of the Latin name Marcus, which was derived from the Roman god of war, Mars. The name Marcus was quite popular during the Roman Empire and was borne by many notable historical figures, including Marcus Brutus, one of the assassins of Julius Caesar.
The name Markia likely originated in the Eastern Mediterranean region, possibly in Greece or the Levant, during the Byzantine era when Latin names were often adapted to local languages. The addition of the "ia" ending was a common practice in these regions, similar to other names like Alexia and Sophia.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Markia can be found in a 9th-century manuscript from the Byzantine Empire, where it is mentioned as the name of a noblewoman from Constantinople. However, the name did not gain widespread popularity until the later medieval period.
During the Middle Ages, the name Markia was occasionally used in various parts of Europe, particularly in Italy and the Balkans. One notable bearer of the name was Markia Argyropoulina, a Byzantine princess and daughter of the Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos, who lived in the early 14th century.
In the Renaissance era, the name Markia was used by a few notable figures, including Markia Gavalla, a Greek scholar and poet from Crete who lived in the 16th century. She was known for her work in promoting the Greek language and culture during the period of Venetian rule on the island.
Another historical figure with the name Markia was Markia Murati, an Albanian noblewoman and philanthropist from the 17th century. She was known for her charitable works and for supporting the construction of churches and schools in her homeland.
While not a common name in modern times, Markia has remained in use, particularly in parts of the Mediterranean region and among Greek and Albanian communities. However, its historical roots and associations with notable figures from the Byzantine and Renaissance periods make it a unique and distinctive name with a rich cultural heritage.
People
Markia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Markia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Markia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Markia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,564 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Markia going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 219,152 US residents.
Is Markia a common name?
We classify Markia as "Rare". It ranks above 92.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,616 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Markia most popular?
The single biggest year for Markia was 1996, when 83 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Markia is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Markia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,275 people with the name Markia, or 0.42 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,450 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Markia in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Markia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Markia leans strongly female. 1,262 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 17 male bearers (1.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Markia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Markia is Black at 90.3%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Markia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Markia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.3% (1,151 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Markia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Markia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Markia in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Markia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Markia in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Markia can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Markia as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Markia, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.