Marcus

Marcus is a masculine given name of Latin origin. It derives from the Roman praenomen Marcus, which is commonly linked to Mars, the god of war, though the precise derivation is uncertain. In antiquity, Marcus was widely used in the Roman Republic and Empire, and the name later spread across Europe and the Anglophone world through Christian and literary transmission.

Today, Marcus remains common as a given name in many languages, including English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. Variants include Mark (English), Marc (French and Catalan), Marco (Italian and Spanish), Marcos (Portuguese and Spanish), and Markus (German and Scandinavian). The name is occasionally used as a surname.

Notable people named Marcus include Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher; Marcus Garvey, Jamaican-born political activist and civil rights leader; Marcus Samuelsson, Ethiopian-born Swedish-American chef and author; Marcus Rashford, English footballer; and Marcus Wareing, British chef. The name is also encountered in various fictional and contemporary contexts.