Mary (name)


Mary is a feminine given name, the English form of the name Maria, which was in turn a Latin form of the Greek name or, found in the Septuagint and New Testament. The latter reflects the original Hebrew pronunciation of the name Miriam, as attested by the Septuagint. The vowel "a" in a closed unaccented syllable later became "i", as seen in other names such as "Bil'am" and "Shimshon".

Etymology

The English name Mary arises by adoption of French Marie into Middle English. Wycliffe's Bible still has Marie, with the modern spelling current from the 16th century, found in the Tyndale Bible, Coverdale Bible and later translations.
The name Mary may have originated from the Egyptian language; it is likely derivative of the root, meaning "love; beloved".
The name Mary was early etymologized as containing the Hebrew root, meaning "bitter", or, meaning "rebellious". St. Jerome, following Eusebius of Caesarea, translates the name as "drop of the sea", from the Hebrew and. This translation was subsequently rendered stella maris due to scribal error, whence Our Lady's title Star of the Sea.

Usage

Mary is among the top 100 names for baby girls born in Ireland, common among Christians and popular among Protestants specifically, owing to Queen Mary II. Mary did not come into common usage in Ireland until the 17th century, as the name was considered too holy to be used. Mary was the 179th most popular name for girls born in England and Wales in 2007.
In the United States, Mary was consistently the most popular name for girls from 1880 until 1961. It was still the most common name for women and girls in the United States in the 1990 census. Mary first fell below the top 100 most popular names in 2009. However, according to the Social Security Administration, Mary is the seventh most common given name in the United States, with 2.16 million individuals bearing this name as of 2023.
The name Mary remains more popular in the Southern United States than elsewhere in the country. Mary was the 15th most popular name for girls born in Alabama in 2007, the 22nd most popular name for girls born in Mississippi in 2007, the 44th most popular name for girls in North Carolina, the 33rd most popular name for girls in South Carolina, and the 26th most popular name for girls in Tennessee.

People

Biblical figures

Royalty

Non-royal aristocrats

Actors

Politicians

Spouses

Other people

Disambiguation pages

This section lists links to pages listing people of the same name.

Fictional characters