Marius (name)

Bust of the Roman general Gaius Marius. He was the most prominent member of the gens Maria bearing the name Marius.
Pronunciation	Latin: [ˈmarius]
Gender	Male
Language(s)	Latin
Region of origin	Roman Empire
Alternative spelling	Marivs
Variant form(s)	Mario, Mário, Marios, Mariusz, Marian
Derived	Mars, mas, or mar

Marius is a male given name, a Roman family name, and a modern surname.

The name Marius was used by members of the Roman gens Maria. It is thought to be derived from either the Roman war god Mars or from the Latin root mas or maris meaning "male". It may also derive from the Latin word meaning "sea", the plural of which is maria.

In Christian times, it was syncretized as a masculine form of the unrelated feminine given name Maria, from the Hebrew Miriam, Aramaic variant , and used alongside it.

Today, the name Marius is a common given name in Romania, Norway, and Lithuania. The name is also used in France, Denmark, Germany, Catalonia, the Netherlands, and South Africa.

The Greek name Marios (Μάριος), the Italian and Spanish name Mario, the Polish name Mariusz, and the Portuguese name are all derived from Marius.