The most given name for three decades
1 out of 72 men in Catalonia is called Marc
BarcelonaIn Catalonia there is a male name that has topped the ranking of most given names for three decades. Specifically, between 1990 and 2009. It is striking, however, that before 1940 and until 1959 it was a practically residual name. For example, during the decade of the 1940s until 1949 it was only given about fifty times; therefore, it is difficult to currently find a grandfather with that name, while from 2000 to 2009 almost 15,000 families chose it for their newborns. We are talking about the name Marc, which celebrates its name day on April 25th.
Despite the enormous success, it is true that in the current decade (at least between 2020 and 2023, the last year for which data is available) it has faltered a bit and has been given 1,650 times, but even so, it continues to occupy fifth place in the ranking.
The reason for its initial success is difficult to determine. “I don't think families took into account the biblical reference and as an evangelist it wasn't popular either,” explains Francesc Calafell, principal researcher at IBE (CSIC - Pompeu Fabra University) and professor and researcher at UPF. However, it is a name that meets all the requirements to be popular: it is short, it is international and it is pronounced the same in many languages. “Historically, it was not a relevant name,” he says.
It has been maintained for so many years, argues this researcher, because “men's names have longer cycles than women's, where there is generally more freedom and creativity when choosing a name”, which causes trends to be shorter. “And so we have reached the extreme that now one out of every 72 men in Catalonia is called Marc. And there are regions where it is one out of every 50 or 40”, he adds. This indicates that it is a fairly common name, especially among certain generations.
Marc is a name that has triumphed, especially in the central and northern regions of Catalonia. Topping the ranking are Lluçanès (24.68 per thousand), Berguedà (23.42 per thousand), and Pla de l’Estany (23.39 per thousand). On the other hand, where we find the fewest is in three coastal regions: Baix Penedès (10.92 per thousand), Tarragonès (10.97 per thousand), and Barcelonès (11.23 per thousand). Nor is it the preferred name in Terres de l’Ebre, which do not reach 14 per thousand.
In the State there are 75,147 men named Marc and the average age is 23.8 years. 74% of the Marcs in the State live in the Catalan Countries, 55,661. We also find the same name in other languages, such as Mark, Marcos and Marco. “It is a crossover name – says Calafell – which has no phonetic obstacles and which is also chosen by many Spanish-speaking families”.
The reason for the decline can be attributed to two reasons: “there is growing awareness that it is a very common name and in an increasingly cosmopolitan society with more different cultural references and with a diversity of names, it is harder to maintain hegemony”, argues this professor.