Maria is a feminine given name. It is given in many languages influenced by Christianity.
It was the feminine form of the unrelated Roman name Marius (see Maria gens), and, after Christianity had spread across the Roman Empire, it became the Latinised form of the name of Miriam: Mary, mother of Jesus.
Maria (Greek: Μαρία) is a form of the name used in the New Testament, standing alongside Mariam (Μαριάμ). It reflects the Syro-Aramaic name Maryam, which is in turn derived from the Biblical Hebrew name Miriam. As a result of their similarity and syncretism, the Latin original name Maria and the Hebrew-derived Maria combined to form a single name.
In Germanic languages, the name's usage is connected with the Germanic element *mar*, meaning "famous".
The name is also sometimes used as a male (middle) name. This was historically the case in many Central Europe countries and still is the case in countries with strong Catholic traditions, where it signified patronage of the Virgin Mary (French-speakers often did the same with Marie).
In the Arabic language the name Mariam (مريم) (also written: Meryem, Mariya) means either "white beautiful woman" or "white cow" or "a little bird with the same size as a pigeon", and it is quite popular in North Africa. One of the feminine Sahaba had the name Maria, Maria the Coptic.
Variants and usage
Maria was a frequently given name in southern Europe even in the medieval period. In addition to the simple name, there arose a tradition of naming girls after specific titles of Mary, feast days associated with Mary and specific Marian apparitions (such as María de los Dolores, María del Pilar, María del Carmen etc., whence the derived given names of Dolores, Pilar, Carmen etc.). By contrast, in northern Europe the name only rose to popularity after the Reformation.
Because the name is so frequent in Christian tradition, a tradition of giving compound names has developed, with a number of such compounds themselves becoming very popular. Examples, among numerous others, include: Anna + Maria (Anne-Marie, Marianne) Maria + Luisa (Marie-Louise) Maria + Antonia (Maria Antonia, French Marie-Antoinette) Maria + Helena (Italian Maria Elena, Spanish María Elena) Maria + Teresa (Maria Theresa, French Marie Thérèse) Maria + {Issa} Marissa or Marisa Christian Nazareth Maria + {Saiyra} Mary-Saiyra or Saiyra Mary Christian Antioch
As a feminine given name, Maria ranked 109th in the United States as of 2015, down from rank 31 held during 1973–1975. The English form Mary was at rank 214 as of 2015, after a much steeper decline down from being ranked first consistently during 1880–1968.
Spelling variants of Maria include: Mária (Hungarian, Slovak), María (Greek, Icelandic, Spanish), Máire and Muire (Irish), Marya (transliterated from Cyrillic), Marija (Latvian, but also used in other Balto-Slavic languages) and Maria (Polish). Due to a very strong devotion of Irish and Polish Catholics to the Blessed Virgin Mary, a special exception is made for two other forms of her name – Muire and Maryja: no one else may take that name, similar to the way the name Jesus is not used in most languages. The English form Mary is derived via French Marie.
A great number of hypocoristic forms are in use in numerous languages. Cyrillic Maryam and Miriam have numerous variants, such as Mariami (Georgian) Mariamma, biblical Mariamme, Mariamne Məryəm (Azerbaijani) Meryem (Kurdish, Turkish) Myriam (French)
The spelling in Semitic abjads is mrym: Aramaic ܡܪܝܡ, Hebrew מרים, Arabic مريم.
Cyrillic spellings are Мария (Maríja) (Russian, Bulgarian), Марыя (Marýja) (Belarusian), Марія (Maríja) (Ukrainian) and Марија (Marija) (Serbian, Macedonian).
Georgian uses მარიამ (Mariam) and მარია (Maria); Armenian has Մարիամ (Mariam).
Chinese has adopted the spelling 瑪麗 (simplified 玛丽, pinyin Mǎlì).
The variant Mariah (usually pronounced ) was rarely given in the United States prior to the 1990s, when it bounced in popularity, from rank 562 in 1989 to rank 62 in 1998, in imitation of the name of singer Mariah Carey (whose Vision of Love topped the charts in 1990).
People named Maria
Royalty
Maria I of Portugal (1734–1816), Queen of Portugal Maria II of Portugal (1818–1853), Queen of Portugal María de la Cerda (1319–1375), countess of Étampes Maria Brignole Sale De Ferrari (1811–1888), Italian duchess Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo (1847–1876), queen consort of Spain (1870–1873) María de la Consolación Azlor (1775–1814), the countess of Bureta Maria Margarida de Lorena, 2nd Duchess of Abrantes (1713–1780) Maria de' Medici (1575–1642), Queen of France Maria Cristina de' Medici (1609–1632), Italian princess Maria Maddalena de' Medici (1600–1633), Tuscan Royal Maria Letizia Bonaparte, Duchess of Aosta (1866–1926) Maria Buynosova-Rostovskaya (died 1626), Tsaritsa of all Russia Maria Maddalena Capece Galeota, duchess of Regina Maria Angela Caterina d'Este (1656–1722), Princess of Carignano Maria Caterina Farnese (1615–1646), Duchess of Moderna and Reggio Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg) (1796–1801) Maria Francisca, Duchess of Coimbra (born 1997) Maria Haraldsdotter (1045–1066), Norwegian princess Maria Laskarina (c. 1206–1270), Queen consort of Hungary Maria Nagaya (1553–1608), Russian tsaritsa Maria Nikolaevna (1899–1918), Grand Duchess of Russia Maria Pavlovna, Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1786–1859) María Josefa Pimentel, Duchess of Osuna (1752–1834), Spanish Salonnière María de Jesús de Iturbide (1818–1849), Mexican princess Maria Sanudo (died 1426), lady of the island of Andros in the Duchy of the Archipelago Maria Skuratova-Belskaya (1552–1605), Tsaritsa of Russia Maria Clementina Sobieska (1702–1735), consort of the Jacobite pretender Maria Karolina Sobieska (1697–1740), Duchess of Bouillon Maria Temryukovna, Tsaritsa of Russia (1561–1569) Maria Tescanu Rosetti (1879–1968), Romanian princess Maria Voichița (1457–1511), Moldovan princess Maria Walpole (1736–1807), Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh Maria Wirtemberska (1768–1854), Duchess Louis of Württenberg Maria Zaccaria, princess of Achaea
Servants and mistresses of Royalty Maria Gustavna Tutelberg, maid in the Russian Imperial Household Maria Fitzherbert (1756–1837), Royal mistress Maria Antonia Branconi (1746–1793), German royal mistress
Nobility
Maria Theresia Ahlefeldt (1755–1810), German-born aristocrat and Danish composer Maria Beccadelli di Bologna (1848–1929), Italian aristocrat Maria Helena de Albuquerque, 1st Baroness of Oliveira Lima, Portuguese noble Maria de Cardona (1509–1563), Italian noblewoman Maria Cantemir (1700–1754), Russian noblewoman Maria Cederschiöld (1815–1892), Swedish noble deaconess and nurse Maria Choglokova (1723–1756), Russian lady-in-waiting and noble Maria Zofia Czartoryska (1699–1771), Polish noblewoman Maria de Ergadia (died 1302), Scottish noblewoman Maria Josepha Hermengilde Esterházy (1768–1845), German noblewoman Maria Golitzyna (1834–1910), Russian noble, courtier and philanthropist María de Salinas (1490–1539), Spanish noblewoman Maria Sofia De la Gardie (1627–1694), Swedish noble and industrialist María Ramírez de Medrano, 12th century noblewoman of León and Castile María de Toledo (1490–1549), Spanish noblewoman Maria Fadrique, Lady of the Lordship of Salona (1382–1394) Maria Gonzaga, Duchess of Montferrat (1609–1660), regent of Mantua Maria Howard, Duchess of Norfolk, English Catholic noblewoman Maria Klara of Dietrichstein, German noblewoman Maria Ivanovna Khlopova (died 1633), Russian noble Maria Ludwika Krasińska (1883–1958), Polish noblewoman Maria Lanckorońska (1737–1826), Polish noblewoman Maria Menshikova (1711–1729), Russian noble Maria Meshcherskaya (1844–1868), Russian lady-in-waiting Maria Molyneux, Countess of Sefton (1769–1851), British noblewoman Maria Naryshkina (1779–1854), Polish noblewoman Maria Nesselrode (1786–1849), courtier of the Russian Imperial Court Maria Nirod (1879–1965), Russian countess and nurse Maria Razumovskaya (1772–1868), Russian noblewoman Maria Salviati (1499–1543), Florentine noblewoman Maria Seymour-Conway, Marchioness of Hertford (1771–1856), London society hostess Maria Skobtsova (1891–1945), Russian noblewoman and resistance fighter Maria Skytte (died 1703), Swedish noble Maria Chiara Spinucci (1741–1792), Italian aristocrat Maria Stanley, Baroness Stanley of Alderley (1771–1863), British letter writer and liberal advocate Maria Arkadyevna Stolypina, Russian courtier Maria van Beckum (died 1544), Dutch noblewoman and Anabaptist burned at the skate for heresy Maria Van den Bergh, Dutch noblewoman Maria von Maltzan (1909–1997), German resistance member and aristocrat Maria Follia (died 1358), Hungarian noblewoman Maria Rumyantseva (1699–1788), Russian lady-in-waiting
Politicians
Maria Ângela Carrascalão, East Timorese politician Maria Fernanda Lay, East Timorese politician Maria Aasen-Svensrud, Norwegian politician María Laura Leguizamón (born 1965), Argentine politician Maria Abrahamsson (born 1963), Swedish lawyer, journalist and politician Maria Fe Abunda (born 1957), Filipino politician María Urciel Castañeda (born 1959), Mexican politician Maria Caraher (born 1968), politician from Northern Ireland Maria Carrilho (1943–2022), Portuguese politician María Caviglia (1895–1985), Argentine politician María Corona Nakamura (born 1964), Mexican politician Maria Chiara Acciarini (born 1943), Italian politician Maria Chin Abdullah, Malaysian politician Maria Cervania, American politician from North Carolina María Alanoca (born 1960), Bolivian politician Maria Soave Alemanno (born 1972), Italian politician María Julia Alsogaray (1942–2017), Argentine politician and civil servant María Antonieta Alva (born 1985), Peruvian politician Maria Ansorge (1880–1955), German politician Maria-Ivanna Hrushevska (1868–1948), spouse of Ukrainian political leader Mykhailo Hrushevsky María Elvia Amaya Araujo (1954–2012), Mexican politician Maria Arbatova (born 1957), Russian and Soviet writer, politician and feminist Maria Rachel Arenas (born 1971), chairperson of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board and politician María Argüelles Arellano (born 1963), Mexican politician Maria Arnholm (born 1958), Swedish politician Maria Koszutska (1876–1939), Polish communist leader and theoretician María Teodora Arrieta (born 1955), Mexican politician Maria Arruvaia, Mozambican politician María Gatica Gajardo, Chilean politician Maria Augimeri, Canadian politician María Fernanda Astudillo, Ecuadorian politician Maria Corrigan, Irish politician María Angélica Cristi (born 1941), Chilean politician Maria Crowby (died 2020), Ni-Vanuatu politician María Ávila Serna (born 1973), Mexican politician and lawyer Maria Backenecker (1893–1931), German politician Maria Badia i Cutchet (born 1947), Spanish politician Maria Leavey (1954–2006), American political consultant Maria Baers (1893–1959), Belgian politician and feminist Maria Baez, American politician Maria Bailey (born 1975), Irish politician Maria Baldó i Massanet (1884–1964), Spanish teacher, feminist, folklorist and liberal politician María Balta (born 1955), Peruvian politician Maria Barrados, Canadian government official Maria Victoria Barros (born 1992), Brazilian politician Maria Barroso (1925–2015), Portuguese politician Maria Begonha (born 1989), Portuguese politician Maria Belo (born 1938), Portuguese psychoanalyst and former Member of the European Parliament Maria Berger (born 1956), Austrian politician Maria Berny (1932–2021), Polish politician Maria Antonia Berrios (born 1977), American politician Maria Bertolini (1931–2022), Italian politician María Eugenia Bielsa (born 1958), Argentine politician Maria Bird-Browne (born 1991), Member of the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda Maria Blum (1890–1965), German politician and journalist