<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Other names </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Related names </Th> <Td> Markus, Markos, Marcas, Marcellus, Marquis </Td> </Tr> <P> Marcus is a masculine given name of Ancient Roman pre-Christian origin derived either from Etruscan Marce of unknown meaning (possibly from the Etruscan "mar" which means "to harvest"), or referring to the god Mars . Because Mars was identified as the Roman god of War, the name' Marcus' can by extension be taken to refer to Ares in the Greek pantheon . </P> <P> The name is popular in Europe, particularly in Sweden, Norway, Italy and Germany, and increasingly, in the Netherlands . It is also popular in English language countries, although less common than the shortened variation' Mark', associated with the Gospel writer Mark the Evangelist (Μάρκος). There are other variants . Marcus ranks in the top 100 most popular boy names in Australia, Canada, England, Scotland, Sweden, and Wales since the 1990s, as well as, the top 200 most popular boy names in the US since the 1960s . </P>

Where does the last name marcus come from