Mars
A rare surname that can come from a place-name, a byname, or in some cases from the old given name associated with the Roman god Mars.
The #7,580 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 70,426 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Mars has more than one possible source. In English records it may be a shortened or altered form of a local-name surname, especially from places containing the element for marsh or from names like Marrs/Marsden; it can also be linked to the classical name Mars, the Roman god of war. Because the same spelling could arise independently in different places and families, the surname is not straightforwardly single-origin.
History
The name appears in English-speaking records as both a family name and, occasionally, as a learned or classical-style surname. 19th-century surname writers sometimes connected it with place-names or with the pagan deity Mars, but they did not treat it as having one settled explanation. In the United States it remains uncommon.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older surname dictionaries grouped Mars with names inspired by classical mythology, since Mars was also used as a personal name in historical records.
From the historical record
“MARRSHEng.) Dweller at the Mar(r)s or MARS J Meres [v. Marr 2] MARSDEN \ (Eng.) Bel. to Marsden (Lanes, MARSDIN JYorks, and Durhani) = the Marsh-Valley [O.E. mersc, a marsh + denu, a valley] MARSH (Eng.) Dweller on Low, Wei Land, a Morass [O.E. mersc]”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)