boy's name
Marc
MARK
- Origin French
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 392,540
France
#379
2025 births
Marc is a boy's name from a Roman name probably meaning dedicated to Mars, the god of war, and it is the source of the month of March. Our data marks it stable across five of the six markets we track.
- Marc is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 1959, when 6,640 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 4,535 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Marc over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 4,930 |
| 1910s | 5,735 |
| 1920s | 11,915 |
| 1930s | 15,985 |
| 1940s | 25,525 |
| 1950s | 56,230 |
| 1960s | 56,400 |
| 1970s | 26,960 |
| 1980s | 18,105 |
| 1990s | 9,535 |
| 2000s | 4,075 |
| 2010s | 2,170 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 945 |
What Marc means
Marc is generally taken as dedicated to Mars, the Roman god of war. The derivation is likely but not certain, and a link to a Latin word for a hammer has also been proposed.
Where Marc comes from
Marc is the French form of the Latin Marcus, one of the small set of Roman first names in common use, and it is most often derived from Mars, the god of war — the same god who gives March its name, the month when campaigning season began. A competing proposal links it to mas, male, or to a word for a hammer. Mark the Evangelist, traditionally the author of the earliest Gospel and the founder of the church in Alexandria, carried it into Christian use; his symbol is the winged lion, which is why the lion stands over Venice, whose merchants took his relics from Alexandria in 828.
Marc in use
Marc peaked in France in 1959, when 6,640 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 379th in France on 130 births, 426th in Ireland, 520th in Scotland, 1240th in the United States on 162 and 1694th in England and Wales, across 392,540 lifetime births in six of the seven markets we track.
How popular is Marc?
In 2025, Marc was given to 130 babies in France, ranking #379 that year. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Marc is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Marc
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Marc also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Marc over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Marc in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Marc
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Marc — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Marc
What does the name Marc mean?
Probably dedicated to Mars, the Roman god of war — though the derivation is not certain.
Is Marc related to the month of March?
Yes, through Mars — March was when the campaigning season began.
Is it Marc or Mark?
Marc is the French spelling and Mark the English; both come from the Latin Marcus.
How popular is Marc?
379th in France and 426th in Ireland, and our data marks it stable.
Is Marc a girl's or a boy's name?
Marc is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Marc?
Marc has 1 syllable.
Is Marc a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Marc currently ranks #379 in France. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.