Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Marcus?
Births per year, rank history and how many Marcuses are alive today.
Marcus (male), once a common boys' name, is now an uncommon choice for new babies in England and Wales, ranked 267th in 2025 with 170 given the name. This spelling of the name peaked in 1974, when around 960 babies were given the name, the 71st most popular that year. Marcus fell out of the published rankings after 1974 and returned in 1994, a classic revival pattern. Numbers have been stable in recent years. At least 30,000 babies have been named Marcus in England and Wales since 1974. Figures before 1996 are estimates. Marcus is one spelling of a name also recorded as Markas and Markus; the combined figures below cover every spelling.
Across all spellings of the name, the Marcus you are most likely to meet is around 51 years old. Half of all Marcuses born in England and Wales are between 26 and 49, and there are at least 37,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's roughly a 12% chance that at least one of them will be called Marcus.
How many babies are named Marcus each year?
Includes all spellings: Marcus, Markas, Markus. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Where does the Marcus spelling rank?
Where does the Markas spelling rank?
Where does the Markus spelling rank?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Marcus most popular?
Marcus peaked in 1974, when around 960 babies in England and Wales were given the name across all spellings.
How many people are called Marcus?
At least 37,000 people named Marcus in any spelling born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Marcus?
Most living Marcuses are between 26 and 49; the most common age is about 51.
Is Marcus becoming more or less popular?
Broadly steady in recent years.