Mario is the male version of Maria, however the accent is on the A in Mario, while in Maria the accent is on the I. Maria is a name of greek origin, while Mario derives from latin, where the proper formulation was Marius, like Gaius Marius, a roman politician lived at the end of the roman republic mostly known for the military reform he enacted. Marcus, like Mario, derives from the latin name "Marcus", en example is Marcus Aurelius, the roman emperor, and today is mostly used in Italy with the italian version Marco. So, Mario IS the female version of Maria, even if they derives from different origins, but Marcus is more common and mostly used around the world, especially in USA or anglo-saxon nationes. Onestly I prefere Marcus over Mario, it's more english or american, after all Mario is so Italian and it always reminds us the short-moustached hydraulic