Mary - Origin and Meaning of the name

[ 2 syll. ma-ry, mar-y ] The girl name Mary is pronounced MEHRiy ^KEY. Mary is of Hebrew origin and it is used mainly in English. The name was originally a Middle English Anglicized form of Marie, itself from Maria (Latin and Old Greek), which is from Mariam (Old Greek) and Mariamne (Hebrew), and ultimately from Miryam (Aramaic and Hebrew). The meaning of the name is disputed; it could be from mirjam ('bitterness'), or else it could be from the French mere ('mother') in reference to a pregnant mother. Another derivation suggests the name is from the Egyptian root word mry ('beloved') and of the meaning 'beloved of Amun' in reference to the Egyptian god. Yet another derivation, supported by Saint Jerome, derives the name via the Hebrew Miriam, from the Latin stella maris ('star of the sea') and ultimately stilla maris ('drop of the sea'). The name was borne by six biblical characters, most notably the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus. Other central figures in the Bible include Mary the sister of Lazarus and Martha, who sat and listened to Jesus at her house, and Mary Magdalene, a devoted disciple of Jesus. The name has been adopted across Europe since the medieval times; in the 16th century the popularity of the name dipped somewhat due to the Puritan's association of the name with Roman Catholicism, as well as the notoriety of Mary I of England (1516-1558), known for persecuting hundreds of religious dissenters. The name later saw a revival in the 17th century. The name was also borne by other royalty, inluding Mary II of England (1662-1694) and Mary Queen of Scots (1542-1587). For Gaelic forms, the Irish Muire and the Scottish Moire are reserved only for the Virgin Mary, while other forms are available for naming purposes. Mary is the feminine version of the Dutch, English, French, German, Romanian, and Scandinavian Marius.

Mary is a widely used name; it has 185 forms that are used in both English and foreign languages. English forms of the name include Mai (also used in Scandinavian), Mally (also used in Irish), Mame, Mara (also used in Hebrew, Italian, Slavic, German, Hungarian, and Czech), Marabel, Marea, Mareah, Maree, Marella (also used in Italian), Maren (also used in Frisian and Scandinavian), Maria (also used in Czech, Dutch, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Scandinavian, and Spanish), Mariah, Mariam (also used in Arabic), Marian, Mariana (also used in German), Marianna (also used in German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Russian, and Slavic), Maribella (also used in Italian and Spanish), Marice, Maridel, Marie (also used in French and German), Mariela, Mariette (also used in French), Mariha, Marilee, Marilin, Marinda, Marion (also used in French and German), Marisa (also used in Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and German), Marissa (also used in German, Italian, and Spanish), Marla (also used in German), Marlo, Marya (also used in Russian), Maryann, Maryanna, Maryanne, Maryette, Marylin, Marylinn, Marylyn, Maura (also used in Irish, German, Italian, and Spanish), Maure, Maureen (also used in Irish), Maurene, Meli (also used in Zuni and Greek), Meri (also used in Hebrew), Meriel (also used in Welsh), Meryl (also used in Welsh), Millie, Mimi (also used in German, Italian, and French), Minette (also used in German and French), Minni, Minny, Miriam (also used in French, German, and Yiddish), Moira (also used in Irish and Scottish), Mojca, Molli, Moyra, Muriel (also used in French, German, and Irish), Muriell, Myriam (also used in French), Polli, Pollie, Ria (also used in German, Hungarian, and Dutch), and Riana (also used in German). Other English forms include the pet forms Mallie, Mamie, Mariel, Marietta (also used in Italian), Marilyn, Marita (also used in Italian, and Spanish), May, Minnie (also used in Scottish), Mitzi (also used in German), Mollie, Molly, and Polly, and the spelling variants Marey, Mari (also used in Finnish, Hungarian, Scandinavian, Spanish, and Welsh), Merri, Merrie, and Merry.

Forms of Mary used in foreign languages include the Dutch Maaike, the Dutch Maarchje, the Polish Macia, the Finnish Maija, the Finnish Maijii, the German Maika, the Frisian and German Maiken, the Finnish Maikki, the Welsh Mair, the Irish Maire, the Scottish Mairi, the Hawaiian Malia, the French Manette, the Russian Manja, the Polish and Russian Manka, the French Manon, the German Maraike, the Czech Marca, the Hungarian Marcsa, the Latvian Mare, the German Mareeka, the German Marei, the German Mareike, the Czech Marenka, the Hungarian Marica, the Romanian Maricara, the Spanish Maricarmen, the German Mariele, the French Marielle, the Czech Marienka, the Dutch Marietje, the Lithuanian and Russian Marija, the Dutch Marijke, the Dutch Marike, the Spanish Mariloly, the Russian Marinka, the Italian Mariola, the German Mariona, the Russian Marisha, the Czech and Hungarian Mariska, the Spanish Maritere, the Spanish Maritina, the Dutch Maritje, the Italian and Spanish Maritta, the German and Spanish Maritza, the Russian Mariya, the Spanish María, the Finnish and Russian Marja, the Dutch Marjet, the Greek Maroula, the Spanish Maruca, the Czech and Russian Maruska, the Arabic Maryam, the Estonian Marye, the Polish Maryla, the Polish Maryna, the Dutch and French Maryse, the German and Russian Mascha, the Russian Mashenka, the Russian Mashka, the Scottish Màili, the Scottish Màiri, the Irish Máire, the Irish Máiria, the Frisian and German Meike, the Tongan Mele, the Arabic and Turkish Meryem, the Scottish Mhairi, the Scandinavian Mie, the German Mieke, the Dutch Mies, the Finnish Mija, the German and Italian Mimmi, the Basque Miren, the German Mirijam, the Finnish Mirja, the Dutch, German, Scandinavian, and Finnish Mirjam, the Irish and Scottish Moire, the Russian Monja, the Irish Morra, the Irish Moya, the Irish and Scottish Muire, the Russian Mura, the Dutch Rie, and the Greek Roula. Specific foreign variants include the pet forms Maike (Frisian and German), Maj (Scandinavian), Maja (Scandinavian), Mania (Polish), Manya (Russian), Marieke (Dutch and German), Mariella (Italian), Marika (Greek, Hungarian, Polish, and Slavic), Mariquita (Spanish), Maruja (Spanish), Marusia (Polish), Marzena (Polish), Masha (Russian), Màireag (Scottish), Máirín (Irish), Mia (Scandinavian), Micke (Dutch), Miep (Dutch), and My (Scandinavian).

See also the related forms, the Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish Mariano, the German and Spanish Marielena, the English Marigold, the English and German Marylou, the English Maryvonne, the Irish and Scottish Mór, and the English Rosemary.

Mary is an all-time favorite. Today it is still popular as a baby girl name, but not to the degree it was in the past. Its usage peaked in 1922 with 5.785% of baby girls being named Mary. It was #1 in rank then. The baby name has experienced a marked decline in frequency since then, and is currently used only on a modest scale. In 2008, it ranked at #97 with a usage of 0.167%. Among the family of girl names directly related to Mary, the Scandinavian and English Mia was the most widely used. The name was thrice as popular as Mary in 2008. Mary has primarily been a girl name, although in the last century it has also been used for boys. In 1972, 194 times more girls than boys were given the name Mary.

Baby names that sound like Mary include the Scottish Mairi, the English Marry, the Scottish Màiri, the English and Hebrew Meri, the English Merri, the English Merrie, the English Merry, the English, Spanish, and Hawaiian Maira, the Arabic Manar, the English, Hebrew, Italian, Slavic, German, Hungarian, and Czech Mara, the English and German Marah, the English Maree, the German Marei, the English Marey, the English, Finnish, Hungarian, Japanese, Scandinavian, Welsh, Estonian, and Spanish Mari, the English, French, and German Marie, the Finnish and Russian Marja, the English Marra, the name Maru, and the Spanish Maruja.

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