Marcus
As a first name, Marcus or Markus is of Roman origin. The name is popular in Italy and Germany, and increasingly, in the Netherlands. It is also popular in the English-speaking world, although there is it is not as ubiquitous as the shortened 'Mark,' which might be felt to resonate with the West's biblical heritage (i.e., it can be seen as referring to the Gospel writer, 'Mark.') However, it ought to be noted that 'Markus' is the name used in German, while in Dutch, 'Marcus' is typically used. These factors likely influence name choices in those countries.
'Marcus' originally referred to Mars. Since Mars was identified as the Roman god of War (see Mars (mythology)), the name 'Marcus' can by extension be taken to refer to Ares in the Greek pantheon.
Marcus, Markus, or Márkus may further refer to:
Military
- David Marcus (1901-1948), American jurist and colonel
- Marcus Licinius Crassus, Roman general and politician who suppressed the slave revolt led by Spartacus
- Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Roman statesman and general
Literature
- Greil Marcus, American author
- Isaak Markus Jost, Jewish historical writer
Reform
- Jacob Rader Marcus, US reform rabbi
- Markus Nissa Weiss, Hungarian advocate of reform
Television and film
- Markus Templer, played large role in feature film "Honey" with Jessica Alba. Was also voted "Best Lover In Real Life" by ex-girlfriends: Jessica Alba, Maria Sharipova, and Halle Berry.
- Leo Markus, fictional character on the American sitcom Will & Grace
- Markus Garrison, 41-year-old inventor from Florida who was a contestant on The Apprentice 4
- Marcus Tullius Cicero (character of Rome), historical figure who features as a character in the HBO/BBC2 original television series Rome
- Markus Haage, German director, producer and screenwriter from Schoeningen
- Marcus Burnett, fictional cop from the movie Bad Boys II
Politics
- Louise Markus, Australian politician
- Marcus (usurper), a usurper emperor from Roman Britain in AD 406
- Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from 161 to his death
- Marcus Junius Brutus, Roman patrician of the late Roman Republic
- Markus Buchart, Manitoba politician
- Markus Drake, Finnish Green League politician who belongs to the Finland-Swedish community
- Markus Feldmann, Swiss politician
- Markus Ferber, German politician and Member of the European Parliament for Bavaria with the Christian Social Union in Bavaria
- Markus Pieper, German politician and Member of the European Parliament for North Rhine-Westphalia
Geography
Sports
- Marcus Allen, Hall of Fame football player that played for the USC Trojans from 1978-1981 and later played for the Los Angeles Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs from 1982-1997
- Marcus Aurelio, Pride fighter
- Marcus Grönholm, rally driver from Finland
- Marcus Horan, Ireland and Munster Rugby Player
- Marcus Trescothick, English Cricketer
- Marcus Williams, American basketball player that plays for the New Jersey Nets in the National Basketball League
- Markus Babbel, German international footballer who plays as a defender
- Markus Beyer, German born boxer at super middleweight
- Markus Grünberger, goalkeeper currently playing for Bayern Munich reserve team
- Markus Heikkinen, Finnish footballer
- Markus Keller, athlete from Switzerland
- Markus Mattsson, one of the first goalies in the NHL from Finland
- Markus Merk, top-level German football referee
- Markus Näslund, professional Swedish ice hockey player currently playing for the Vancouver Canucks (NHL)
- Markus Neumayr, German football player
- Markus Oscarsson, Swedish flatwater canoer and reigning Olympic and world champion
- Markus Penz, Austrian male skeleton racer
- Markus Pröll, German goalkeeper who is playing for Eintracht Frankfurt
- Markus Rogan, Austrian swimmer
- Markus Rosenberg, Swedish footballer
- Markus Weise, German field hockey player and coach
- Markus Weissenberger, Austrian football player
- Markus Winkelhock, German auto racing driver and the son of the late Manfred Winkelhock and thus a nephew of Joachim Winkelhock
- Rixi Markus, British bridge player
- Marcus Vinicius De Morais, Brazilian footballer currently playing for the Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan.
Music
- Markus Allan Hoppus, current bassist for the rock group +44
- Marcus Brosch, German songwriter, record producer and remixer
- Markus Grosskopf, bass player for the German power metal band Helloween
- Markus James, current bassist for the rock group Breaking Benjamin
- Markus Löffel, disc jockey, musician and producer from Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Markus Schulz, German trance music DJ and producer who currently resides in Miami, Florida, USA
- Markus Stockhausen, German trumpeter and composer
- Markus Stopholese, American rock guitarist
- Marcus Ullmann,German singer (tenor)
- Markus Wolfe, Canadian guitar player
Programming
- Markus Hess, computer prodigy and particularly effective hacker
- Markus Kuhn, German computer scientist
- Marcus Striplin, american singer-songwriter Pleasant Grove
Science
- Markus J. Buehler, German materials scientist working in the area of multi-scale modeling of deformation and fracture of materials
- Markus Luty, particle physicist
- Rudolph Marcus, chemist and Nobel Prize winner
Business
- Markus Ruby, European brand of watches
- Neiman Marcus, upscale, specialty, retail department store
Other
- György Márkus, Hungarian philosopher
- Ludwik Kazimierz Wladyslaw Markus, painter and engraver of Polish origin who lived in Paris for much of his life
- Marcus Garvey, a black nationalist leader during the early 20th century
- Markus Mosse, German physician
- Markus Rühl, German bodybuilder
- Markus Wolf, former head of the General Reconnaissance Administration
- Siegfried Marcus (1831-1898), German-Austrian inventor