Markos
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "consecrated to the god Mars".
Name Census estimates that about 999 living Americans carry the first name Markos. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Markos today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Markos births was 2008 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Markos. 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
999
~ 1 in 343,097 Americans
Peak year
2008
41 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,790
Tracked since 1965
Popularity
Markos: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Markos from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 279 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Markos 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 Markos during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Markos' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Markos, while Florida, New York, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 30 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Markos
The name Markos has its origins in the ancient Greek language and culture, dating back to the Classical period around the 5th century BC. It is derived from the Greek name Markos, which in turn is derived from the Latin name Marcus, meaning "consecrated to the god Mars." Mars was the Roman god of war, and the name was likely given to male children in hopes of imbuing them with the strength and valor associated with this deity.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Markos can be found in the New Testament of the Bible, where it refers to John Mark, a companion of the apostles Peter and Paul. John Mark is believed to have authored the Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels in the Christian tradition.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Markos or its variations. One of the most prominent was Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor who ruled from 161 to 180 AD. He was known for his philosophical writings, particularly the "Meditations," which have influenced Western thought for centuries.
Another famous bearer of the name was Marco Polo, the renowned Venetian merchant and explorer who traveled to Asia in the 13th century. His accounts of his journeys along the Silk Road and his observations of the Mongol Empire influenced European perspectives on the East for generations.
In the realm of art and literature, the Italian painter and architect Marko Marulić (1450-1524) was a prominent figure of the Renaissance period. He is considered the founder of Renaissance literature in Croatia and is known for his epic poem "Judita."
The name Markos also holds significance in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, where it is associated with several saints and martyrs. One notable example is St. Mark the Evangelist, who is venerated as the founder of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria, Egypt.
Other historically significant individuals named Markos include Markos Vamvakaris (1905-1972), a celebrated Greek singer and bouzouki player who helped shape the rebetiko music genre, and Markos Moulitsas Zúniga (born 1971), an American political blogger and founder of the influential liberal blog Daily Kos.
People
Markos + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Markos 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
Markos: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Markos?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 999 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Markos 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 343,097 US residents.
Is Markos a common name?
We classify Markos as "Very Rare". It ranks above 90.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,022 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Markos most popular?
The single biggest year for Markos was 2008, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Markos is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Markos a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Markos in the SSA data are male. 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.
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.