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Mary

Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, English Bible

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Meaning & History

The usual English form of Maria, the Latin form of the New Testament Greek names Μαριάμ (Mariam) and Μαρία (Maria) — the spellings are interchangeable — from Hebrew מִרְיָם (Miryam), borne by the sister of Moses in the Old Testament. The meaning is uncertain, with theories including "sea of bitterness", "rebelliousness", and "wished for child". However, it was most likely originally Egyptian, perhaps partly from mry "beloved" or mr "love".

Several New Testament figures bear this name, most importantly Mary the mother of Jesus. According to the gospels, Jesus was conceived in her by the Holy Spirit while she remained a virgin. Mary Magdalene also bore this name, a woman cured of demons by Jesus who became one of his followers and witnessed his crucifixion and resurrection.

Due to the Virgin Mary, this name has been extremely popular throughout the Christian world, though at certain times in some cultures it was considered too sacred for everyday use. In England it has been used since the 12th century and has been among the most common feminine names since the 16th century. In the United States in 1880, it was given more than twice as often as the next most popular girl's name (Anna). It held the top rank in America until 1946 when it was overtaken by Linda. Though it briefly reclaimed the top spot in the 1950s, it was already declining and has since fallen out of the top 100.

Two queens of England bore this name, as did Mary Queen of Scots. Another notable bearer was Mary Shelley (1797-1851), author of Frankenstein. A famous fictional character is Mary Poppins from P. L. Travers's children's books, first published in 1934.

The Latinized form Maria is also used in English and several other languages.

Related Names

Variants (English): Marie, Maree, Maria
Diminutives (English): Mae, Mamie, Marinda, Marion 1, May, Mayme, Mollie, Molly, Pollie, Polly
Other Languages & Cultures (Afrikaans): Marietjie
(Swedish): Marie
(Malay): Mariam
(Urdu): Maryam
(Arabic (Maghrebi)): Mariem, Meriem
(Welsh): Mari 1
(Ukrainian): Maria
(Greek): Meri 2
(Spanish): Marieta
(Azerbaijani): Məryəm
(Bashkir): Märyäm
(Basque): Miren, Maddi
(Estonian): Maia 3
(Ukrainian): Mariya
(Belarusian): Maryia
(Spanish): Miryam
(Bosnian): Merjem, Merjema
(Norwegian): Mai 3
(Spanish): Mariela
(Ukrainian): Mariyka
(Catalan): Mariona, Ona 2
(Slovene): Marija
(Swedish): Maja 2
(Serbian): Mara 2
(Slovene): Mare, Marica
(Croatian): Marijeta
(Swedish): Mia, Miriam, Marika
(Norwegian): Maiken
(Swedish): Maj 2, Majken
(Norwegian): Maren, Mie
(Urdu): Mariyam
(Finnish): Marjo 1
(Slovene): Mirjam
(Dutch): Jet, Maaike
(French): Manon
(Dutch): Marieke, Mariëlle, Mariëtte, Marije, Marijke, Marijse, Marike
(German): Marion 1
(Hungarian): Mariska
(Spanish): Marita 1
(Sorbian): Marja
(Dutch): Marjon
(German): Meike
(Dutch): Mieke, Miep, Mies
(German): Ria
(Estonian): Maarja
(Finnish): Maarika
(Estonian): Maie, Mall, Malle 1, Maris 1
(Finnish): Marje 2
(Estonian): Marju
(Maori): Mere
(Slovak): Miriama
(Finnish): Maaria, Meeri, Mirjami
(Latvian): Maija
(Finnish): Maila, Maritta, Marjatta, Marjukka, Marjut, Miia, Mirja, Mirka 2
(French): Myriam, Marielle, Mariette, Marise, Maryse
(German): Maike, Mareike
(Spanish): María
(Galician): Maruxa
(Hawaiian): Malia
(German): Malea, Mariele
(Polish): Marietta
(German): Mitzi
(Hausa): Maryamu
(Hebrew): Miri
(History): Mariamne
(Slovak): Mária
(Icelandic): Mæja
(Irish): Máire, Maura 2
(Scottish): Moira, Moyra
(Irish): Muire, Máirín, Mallaidh, Maureen
(Italian): Mariella, Miriana
(Kazakh): Märiyam
(Latvian): Māra, Mārīte
(Lithuanian): Marytė
(Manx): Moirrey, Voirrey
(Medieval English): Malle 2, Molle
(Polish): Mariola 1, Maryla, Marysia, Marzena
(Portuguese): Mariana, Mariane, Mariazinha
(Romanian): Maricica, Marioara
(Ukrainian): Mariia
(Russian): Manya
(Ukrainian): Marusya
(Russian): Marya, Masha, Miya
(Sami): Márjá
(Tongan): Mele
(Scottish): Mhairi
(Scottish Gaelic): Màiri, Moire
(Slovene): Manca, Manja, Maruša, Mija
(Somali): Maryan
(Spanish): Míriam, Mía, Mirian 1
(Spanish (Latin American)): Marely, Maritza
(Spanish (Philippines)): Mariel
(Swahili): Mariamu
(Swedish): My
(Tatar): Märyam
(Uyghur): Meryem
(Walloon): Mareye
(Welsh): Mair
(Western African): Mariama
User Submissions ma12ry, Mary, mary10

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