Marks
Usually a patronymic surname meaning “son of Mark,” though in some cases it can also come from the personal name Marcus.
The #703 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 6,278 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Marks is most commonly explained as a patronymic surname built from the given name Mark, with the final -s meaning “son of” or “belonging to.” The name Mark itself comes through Latin Marcus, a Roman personal name traditionally linked with Mars, the Roman god of war. In some records and in some families, Marks may therefore reflect descent from a man named Mark or, more broadly, from Marcus.
History
The surname is well established in English-speaking countries and is especially common in Britain and the United States. Historical surname writers also treated Marx as a close variant, and some lines may have been influenced by continental forms of the same personal name. Because Mark was a popular Christian given name, the surname arose independently in more than one place.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same root gave rise to a wide family of surnames across Europe, including Marks, Marx, and Markson.
From the historical record
“Boundary-Land [O.E. m{e)arc + land] MARKS \ I Mark's (Son) : v. Mark' MARX J 2 for Marcus, q.v. MARKSON, Mark's Son : v. Marki MARL 1 (Fr.-Lat.) the French Marie, Merle, MARLE J a nickname from the Blackbird [Fr. merle, Lat. merula] (A.-Fr.-Lat.-Celt.) Dweller at the Marl”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)