I brought this name up to my (primarily Spanish-speaking grandfather today and he informed me that it's a slang derogatory term for a homosexual (as is "Mariposa", meaning butterfly)--"Mariquito" is also used, but I think they both apply to men. (Then he looked alarmed, called my grandma over, and told me, "Promise your nana you won't use that name for your babies!" LOL!) He also mentioned that he knew of a couple of women named Marquita, like the original poster, but that he believed the names to be a feminine diminutive of
Marcos , or
Mark . It's just a guess, though.
Melissa