NameCensus.

UK boy's name

Mark

Of Latin origin meaning "consecrated to the god Mars".

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Mark is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Mark popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #277, with 166 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 1996, with 1,222 births.

This profile covers 11,336 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

The latest count is about 14% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 32,215 living people in the UK are called Mark. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Mark ranked #277 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 166 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 1996, when 1,222 boys were registered as Mark.
  • Mark ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #169 in 2024.
  • About 32,215 living people in the UK are estimated to have Mark as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#277

2024

Births in 2024

166

Latest year

Peak year

1996

1,222 births

Estimated living

32,215

2026

Meaning

What does Mark mean?

The name Mark has its origins in ancient Rome, derived from the Latin name Marcus. This name is believed to have been derived from the Roman god Mars, the god of war. Mars was a significant deity in Roman mythology, and the name Marcus was likely chosen to honor him.

The name Mark has been in use for over two millennia, with records of its use dating back to the 1st century AD. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Mark the Evangelist, one of the four Gospel writers in the New Testament of the Bible. He is believed to have lived in the first century AD and was a companion of the apostles Peter and Paul.

Another famous bearer of the name Mark was the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, who ruled from 161 to 180 AD. He was a Stoic philosopher and is remembered for his writings in the form of the philosophical work "Meditations."

During the Middle Ages, the name Mark gained popularity across Europe, particularly in England and other parts of the British Isles. One notable figure from this period was Mark Twain, the famous American author and humorist. He was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in 1835 and is best known for his novels "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."

In the world of science, the name Mark is associated with Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder and CEO of Facebook. Zuckerberg was born in 1984 and is credited with revolutionizing social media and communication through the creation of the popular social networking platform.

Another prominent figure with the name Mark is Mark Hamill, the American actor best known for his portrayal of Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy. He was born in 1951 and has had a successful career in film, television, and voice acting.

These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Mark throughout history, highlighting its enduring popularity and significance across various cultures and time periods.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Mark over time

The chart below shows babies named Mark registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Mark, the clearest high point is 1996. The latest England and Wales figure is 166 births in 2024, compared with 1,222 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Mark
03066119171K199620102024

Decades

Mark by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Mark was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2020s #254 937 5
2010s #229 2,331 10
2000s #130 4,212 10
1990s #66 3,856 4

Geography

Where Mark is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Mark. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.

Mark ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #169 in 2024.

Scotland
26
Northern Ireland
12

Across the UK

Mark in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#169 in 2024

51 years of NRS records, 19,821 total registered

Northern Ireland (NISRA)

#177 in 2024

28 years of NISRA records, 1,743 total registered

Notable bearers

Famous people named Mark

  • Mark Stent

    composer; engineer; audio engineer; record producer

    English record producer and mixing engineer

    1965-

  • Mark Burgess

    singer; songwriter

    British musician

    1960-

Related

Names similar to Mark

FAQ

Mark: questions and answers

How popular is the name Mark in the UK right now?

In 2024, Mark was ranked #277 for boys in England and Wales, with 166 births registered.

When was Mark most popular?

The peak year on record was 1996, with 1,222 babies registered as Mark in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Mark?

Of Latin origin meaning "consecrated to the god Mars".

How many people are called Mark in the UK?

A total of 11,336 babies have been registered as Mark across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 19,821 more in Scotland and 1,743 in Northern Ireland.

Where is Mark most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Mark ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #169 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.