Marx (surname)

Last updated August 22, 2025

The surname Marx is a Germanic surname, believed to originate with Mark the Evangelist and the Roman praenomen Marcus, the latter deriving from the god Mars. The similarly-spelled Marks may share etymology with march (territory), especially near Wales, but most British Marxes have Jewish roots, typically in the Rhineland or former Pale of Settlement.^[1] Famously, Karl Marx's father, born Herschel HaLevi Mordecai in Saarlouis, assimilated in 1817 or 1818 to Heinrich Marx because Prussia banned Jews from public service.^[2] Amateur genealogist Colin Shelley suggests that the name Marx' prevalence there may have arisen as a macaronic acronym for māšīaḥ rex .^[1]

Notable people with the surname

Politics

Jenny Marx (1814–1881), a German socialist and the wife of Karl Marx
Karl Marx (1818–1883), 19th-century philosopher
- Jenny Marx (1844–1883), activist and the eldest daughter of Karl Marx
- Eleanor Marx (1855–1898), politically active daughter of Karl Marx
- Laura Marx (1845–1911), daughter of Karl Marx and wife of Paul Lafargue
- Heinrich Marx (1777–1838), German lawyer and father of Karl Marx
- Henriette Marx (née Pressburg) (1788–1863), mother of Karl Marx
Wilhelm Marx (1863–1946), German politician and Chancellor
Marx Dormoy (1888–1941), French socialist
Charles Marx (1903–1946), Luxembourgian doctor, political militant and minister

Television and film

Marx Brothers, a team of American sibling comedians that appeared in vaudeville, stage plays, film and television
- The brothers:
  - Chico Marx (1887–1961), also a musician
  - Harpo Marx (1888–1964), also a musician
  - Groucho Marx (1890–1977)
  - Gummo Marx (1892–1977)
  - Zeppo Marx (1901–1979)
- Other family members:
  - Arthur Marx (1921–2011), son of Groucho Marx, writer
  - Barbara Marx (1926–2017), wife of Zeppo Marx who later became the final wife of Frank Sinatra
  - Gregg Marx (born 1955), grandson of Milton "Gummo" Marx, great-nephew of Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo Marx, actor known mainly for his work on daytime soap operas
  - Melinda Marx (born 1946), daughter of Groucho Marx, writer
  - Minnie Marx (1864/5–1929), mother and manager for the Marx Brothers, sister of Al Shean
  - Miriam Marx (1927–2017), daughter of Groucho Marx, writer
  - Sam Marx (1859–1933), father of the Marx Brothers
Brett Marx (born 1964), American actor
Carey Marx (born 1966), British comedian
Christy Marx, TV series writer
Frederick Marx, film producer, editor, writer and director
Samuel Marx (born 1955), MGM story editor, film producer, and author
Sue Marx (1930-2023), American documentary film director and producer

Music

Adolf Bernhard Marx (1799–1866), musicologue
Bill Marx (pianist) (born 1937), American pianist, arranger, and composer
Gary Marx (born 1959), rock musician
Jeff Marx (born 1970), American composer of musicals
Joseph Marx (1882–1964), Austrian composer
Karl Marx (composer) (1897–1985), German composer
Kerry Marx, American guitarist and Music Director of the Grand Ole Opry
Patricia Marx (singer) (born 1974), Brazilian singer-songwriter
Richard Marx (born 1963), American pop singer

Sports

Daniel Marx (born 1995), American football fullback
Eric Marx (1895–1974), South African cricketer
Franz Marx (born 1963), Austrian wrestler
Greg Marx (1950–2018), American football defensive end
Jack Marx (bridge) (1907–1991), British bridge player
Jan-Hendrik Marx (born 1995), German footballer
Joachim Marx (born 1944), Polish footballer
Josef Marx (1934–2008), German footballer
Malcolm Marx (born 1994), South African rugby union player
Michael Marx (born 1958), American fencer
Nicolas Marx (born 1974), French footballer
Robert Marx (fencer) (born 1956), American fencer
Thorben Marx (born 1981), German footballer
Travis Marx (born 1977), American mixed martial artist

In other fields

Adolph Marx (bishop) (1915–1965), American Roman Catholic bishop
Anthony Marx (born 1959), President and CEO of New York Public Library
Bill Marx (born 1937), American theater and arts critic
Carl Marx (artist) [ de ] (1911–1991) German artist and Bauhaus student
Clare Marx (1954–2022), British surgeon
Daniel Marx (born 1953), Argentine economist
Ellen Marx (born 1939), German artist and author
Enid Marx (1902–1998), English painter and designer
Erwin Otto Marx (1893–1980), German engineer and inventor
Friedrich Marx (1859–1941), German classical philologist
Friedrich Marx (author) [ de ] (1830–1905), Austrian poet and officer
George Marx (1838–1895), German-born American arachnologist, scientific illustrator, and physician
Gertie F. Marx (1912-2004), German-born American physician and pioneer of obstetric anaesthesia
Graciela Gutiérrez Marx (1945–2022), Argentine artist
György Marx (1927–2002), Hungarian physicist, astrophysicist, science historian, and professor
Hellmuth Marx (1915–2002), Austrian sculptor
Herbert Marx (politician) (1932–2020), Canadian lawyer, university law professor, politician, and judge
Hymen Marx (1925–2007), American herpetologist
Jack Marx (20th and 21st centuries), Australian journalist and author
Karl Marx (medical missionary), German doctor
Karl Friedrich Heinrich Marx, German physician and lecturer
Leo Marx (1919–2022), professor at MIT
Louis Marx (1896–1982), American toy maker and businessman
Mona Magdeleine Marx; known more commonly by married name Mona Beaumont, French-born American painter, printmaker
Paul Marx (monk) (1920–2010), American Roman Catholic priest, sociologist, anti-abortion activist, and writer
Paul John Marx (1935–2018), French Roman Catholic bishop
Philipp Marx (born 1982), retired German tennis player
Reinhard Marx (born 1953), Cardinal, Archbishop of Munich and Freising
Robert F. Marx (1936–2019), American underwater archaeologist
Roberto Burle Marx (1909–1994), Brazilian landscape designer
Thierry Marx (born 1962), French chef

Other media

Bernard Marx, one of the main characters in the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Carlo Marx, character in the novel On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Skidd McMarxx, minor character in the game Ratchet and Clank, whose name is primarily a play on words (he plays a sport similar to Slalom snowboarding)

References

1 2 Shelley, Colin. "Marks surname meaning, history & origin". Select Surnames. Retrieved 8 Dec 2024. Originally published prior to 5 Feb 2016 at (now-defunct) selectsurnames4.com.
↑ Megill, Allan. Karl Marx: the burden of reason (why Marx rejected politics and the market) 2002, page 72 ISBN 978-0742511668

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[Geneo-1] 1 2 Shelley, Colin. "Marks surname meaning, history & origin". Select Surnames. Retrieved 8 Dec 2024. Originally published prior to 5 Feb 2016 at (now-defunct) selectsurnames4.com.

[2] Megill, Allan. Karl Marx: the burden of reason (why Marx rejected politics and the market) 2002, page 72 ISBN 978-0742511668

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