Mark
Climbing fast in Poland: given far more often now than a decade ago, part of a real comeback, though still uncommon enough that meeting a Mark stays memorable. The name comes from Latin, tied to Mars, the Roman god of war.
Mark Pronunciation
Mark is pronounced MAHRK (/mark/).
What Mark means
Where Mark comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Mark begins with the Latin Marcus, a name Roman families tied to Mars, the god of war. Its short meaning, dedicated to Mars, points back to that martial root rather than to anything the modern name suggests. In English the form settled as Mark, plain and single-syllabled.
The name traveled well. Saint Mark, the evangelist credited with the second Gospel, gave it a reach far beyond Rome, and churches across Europe took his name into everyday use. Latin Marcus branched into Marco in Italy, Marc in France, and Marek in Poland, where the variant stands on its own.
Marek turns up in a Polish class register as easily as Mark does in an English one. Its name day falls on the twenty-fifth of April, kept for the evangelist. The word is short, its first sound hard.
Whatever else it gathered, Mark keeps its short meaning: dedicated to Mars.
How many people are named Mark
1 in 1872 men in Poland is named Mark. 11,407 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #348 among male names.
Mark's popularity over time
521 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #103 among newborns. It is making a comeback after a low in 2003.
Where parents choose Mark
Mark is most popular in Lower Silesian, 113% above the national average (363 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Lubusz (+84%) and West Pomeranian (+67%). It is least common in Subcarpathian and Holy Cross, 85% and 77% below average respectively.
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Lower Silesian
+113%1 in 433 babies
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Lubusz
+84%1 in 502 babies
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West Pomeranian
+67%1 in 552 babies
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Subcarpathian
−85%1 in 6,028 babies
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Holy Cross
−77%1 in 3,960 babies
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Warmian-Masurian
−73%1 in 3,419 babies
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Lower Silesian+113% 363 born1 in 433 babies+113%
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Lubusz+84% 99 born1 in 502 babies+84%
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West Pomeranian+67% 153 born1 in 552 babies+67%
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Masovian+33% 510 born1 in 695 babies+33%
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Łódź+13% 155 born1 in 818 babies+13%
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Pomeranian+12% 179 born1 in 823 babies+12%
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Greater Poland+7% 250 born1 in 861 babies+7%
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Opole−12% 44 born1 in 1,048 babies−12%
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Silesian−19% 201 born1 in 1,132 babies−19%
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Lesser Poland−20% 196 born1 in 1,158 babies−20%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian−40% 71 born1 in 1,541 babies−40%
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Podlaskie−52% 34 born1 in 1,935 babies−52%
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Lublin−70% 33 born1 in 3,111 babies−70%
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Warmian-Masurian−73% 21 born1 in 3,419 babies−73%
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Holy Cross−77% 14 born1 in 3,960 babies−77%
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Subcarpathian−85% 20 born1 in 6,028 babies−85%
Mark as a middle name
Mark is a first name for 11,407 men in Poland and a middle name for another 1,071, a 91/9 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 224th, between Oktawian (1,105) and Aleks (1,060).
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#222 Dionizy1,107
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#223 Oktawian1,105
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#224 Mark1,071
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#225 Aleks1,060
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#226 Bonifacy1,043