Mars

MARZ

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The name Mars means “god of war.” It comes from the Latin language tradition.

The name of the ancient Roman god of war, second only to Jupiter in importance, and the divine father of Rome's legendary founders Romulus and Remus. The planet Mars was named for him due to its red, blood-like color.

Sources fetched for Mars actually cover more than one origin bundled under the same spelling. Wiktionary's entry on the Roman god traces the name to an early form Mavors, possibly from a reconstructed *Mamart- (matching his Oscan byname Mamers), though it calls the exact derivation uncertain and notes further bynames Marmar and Maris. Separate Wiktionary entries describe an unrelated English surname Mars — either a variant of Marrs, or a place name first recorded as mersche ("marsh") in 1307 — which is a distinct etymological line, not a form of the god's name.

The fetched Wikipedia source discusses the planet Mars as an astronomical body — its orange-red appearance, thin carbon-dioxide atmosphere, and size relative to Earth — but does not explain why the planet carries the god's name, so the existing note's claim that it was named for a blood-like color, and its details about Jupiter and Romulus and Remus, are not confirmed by anything retrieved here.

• Mars (Roman deity)
• Bruno Mars (singer, born Peter Gene Hernandez)

Sibling names that share Mars's rhythm and register without echoing it too closely.