You’ve heard it shouted a thousand times across a chlorinated pool. Maybe you’ve even sent a "Polo" video to your mom this morning while drinking your coffee. But honestly, what does Marco Polo mean, and why did a 13th-century Venetian merchant become the mascot for both a game of water tag and a "visual walkie-talkie" app?
It’s a weird legacy.
Most people assume there’s a deep, historical reason the guy who traveled the Silk Road is now the patron saint of kids bumping into pool walls with their eyes shut. There isn’t. Well, not a strictly factual one, anyway. The name has morphed into a shorthand for a specific kind of human interaction: the call-and-response.
The Pool Game: Why Him?
If you’re looking for a scholarly link between the explorer’s 24-year trek to China and your cousin splashing around in a suburban backyard, prepare to be disappointed. Historians don’t have a smoking gun. There is no diary entry from 1298 where Marco says, "And then we played a game where I closed my eyes and yelled my own name."
Basically, the game is a water-based version of Blind Man’s Buff.
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One person is "It." They close their eyes—or wear a blindfold if you're playing on land, though that's a recipe for a bruised shin. They shout "Marco!" Everyone else has to shout "Polo!" back. It’s a primitive form of sonar.
Where did it actually come from?
The game started popping up in the United States around the 1960s. By the 70s, it was a staple of American pool culture. Some people like to invent "whimsical" origins to make it sound cooler. You’ll hear stories that the real Marco Polo once got separated from his caravan in a desert storm and his family called out to find him.
Cute? Yes. True? Almost certainly not.
There’s also a theory that it’s a play on Water Polo, which is a legitimate Olympic sport. But Water Polo is grueling and requires a ball. Marco Polo just requires a voice and a lack of shame. The name likely stuck because it’s rhythmic. It’s fun to yell. "Marco" is a strong, two-syllable hook, and "Polo" is the perfect, punchy response.
The App: A Modern "Video Walkie-Talkie"
Fast forward to 2014. A couple named Vlada and Michal Bortnik wanted a way to talk to family across different time zones. They didn't want the pressure of a live FaceTime call where you have to look "ready," but they hated the coldness of a text.
They built an app. They called it Marco Polo.
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In this context, the name makes total sense. The app is asynchronous. You send a video (the "Marco"), and the other person watches it and responds when they can (the "Polo"). It’s the digital version of that pool-side call-and-response.
Why it feels different than social media
- No "Likes": There’s no dopamine-chasing or public tally of how cool you are.
- No Filters (usually): While there are some fun voice effects, it’s mostly just raw, "this is what my face looks like at 7 AM" video.
- The "2x" Culture: A hilarious byproduct of the app is the "2x me" phenomenon. People watch videos at double speed to save time. It’s basically the modern way of saying, "Get to the point, Marco."
Honestly, the app saved the name from becoming just a "kid thing." It turned it into a "mom and grandma thing," and eventually a "everyone who is too busy for a 30-minute phone call" thing.
The Man Behind the Name
We can't talk about what the name means without looking at the guy who started it all. Born in Venice in 1254, the real Marco Polo wasn't just a traveler; he was a storyteller.
He spent 17 years in the court of Kublai Khan. When he finally made it back to Italy, he got thrown in prison during a war with Genoa. That’s where the magic happened. He met a romance writer named Rustichello da Pisa and basically dictated his memoirs.
The resulting book, The Travels of Marco Polo, was the medieval version of a viral TikTok.
People at the time thought he was a total liar. They nicknamed the book Il Milione (The Million) because they thought it contained a million lies. He talked about paper money, coal, and "stones that burn"—things Europeans had never heard of. But on his deathbed, he allegedly said:
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"I have not told half of what I saw."
So, when we ask what does Marco Polo mean, at its core, it means discovery. It means reaching out into the dark (or the deep end) and waiting for someone to answer from the other side. Whether it's a merchant in 1271 or a toddler in 2026, the essence is the same: I’m here. Are you there?
How to use this knowledge (The Actionable Part)
If you're here because you're trying to figure out how to navigate the "Marco Polo" world—either the game or the app—here are a few pro-tips that aren't in the manual.
For the Pool Game: If you are "It," stop splashing. Most people "Marco" and then immediately start thrashing through the water. You’re drowning out the "Polo." Shout, then go dead silent. Use your ears, not your arms. Also, keep an ear out for the "Fish out of Water" rule. If you suspect someone is standing on the pool deck to avoid being tagged, yell "Fish out of water!" If you're right, they're automatically "It."
For the App: Don't treat it like a "Story" on Instagram. You don't need a script. The beauty of the app is the mundanity. If you're waiting for something "interesting" to happen to send a Polo, you'll never send one. Send the boring stuff. That’s where the connection actually lives.
For the History Buffs: If you want to see if he was actually a liar, look up the Fra Mauro map. It’s one of the most important maps in history, and it was heavily influenced by Polo’s descriptions of Asia. The guy was the real deal, even if we've turned his name into a reason to dunk our friends in the water.
The next time you’re at a BBQ and someone starts yelling "Marco," you can be that person who explains it’s actually about 13th-century asynchronous communication. Or maybe just jump in and yell "Polo." It's more fun that way.