MEANING & HISTORY
What does Marco mean?
Marco is the Italian form of Marcus, the Roman personal name also represented by Mark. Marcus is probably related to Mars, but the older derivation is not secure enough to make warrior a literal translation of Marco.
Saint Mark’s association with Venice helps explain the name’s Italian history. Marco Polo is a famous bearer of an already established name rather than its creator or etymological source.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
EnglishEtymology & source
From Romance Marco (Italian Marco, Portuguese Marco, Spanish Marco).
A male given name from the Romance languages, equivalent to English Mark.; A male given name from Italian.; A male given name from Portuguese.; A male given name from Spanish.
SpanishEtymology & source
Derived from Latin Mārcus.
a male given name from Latin, equivalent to English Mark or Marcus
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Marco
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Marco Alcaraz
Filipino actor
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Mo Twister
Filipino-American radio personality, actor
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
1
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗Wikidata
10
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Marco Alcaraz, Mo Twister
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Marco in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Marco
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Marc♂French, Catalan, or Welsh form of Marcus
- Marcio♂Spanish form of the Roman family name Marcius
- Marcos♂Form of Marcus, traditionally related to Mars
- Marcy♀Familiar form of Marcia
- Mario♂Italian and Spanish form of Roman Marius
- Marlo♂♀Documented nickname and Marlowe-family spelling accounts
- Mac♂Son; through Gaelic surname traditions
- Macy·Surname from the French place name Massy
What rhymes with Marco?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Explore Marco further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wikidata given-name item Q17520955 — Marco (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Marco Alcaraz (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q17520955 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Mo Twister (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q17520955 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Marco (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary contributors — Marco (Spanish) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Behind the Name — Marco (opens in a new tab)
Consulted account of the name’s formation, relevant root elements, or explicitly linked base name.
- Behind the Name — Marcus (opens in a new tab)
Consulted account of the name’s formation, relevant root elements, or explicitly linked base name.
- Behind the Name — Mark (opens in a new tab)
Consulted account of the name’s formation, relevant root elements, or explicitly linked base name.