Titles of Mary, mother of Jesus

in Christianity, is known by many different titles, epithets, invocations, and several names associated with places.
All of these descriptives refer to the same woman named Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. They are used differently by Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and some Anglicans.
Some descriptives of Mary are properly titles, dogmatic in nature, while some are invocations. Other descriptives are poetic or allegorical or have lesser or no canonical status, but form part of popular piety, with varying degrees of acceptance by Church authorities. Another class of titles refer to depictions of Mary in Catholic Marian art and in art generally. A rich range of Marian titles also are used in musical settings of pieces dedicated to her.

Historical and cultural context

The relatively large number of titles given to Mary may be explained in several ways. Some titles grew due to geographic and cultural reasons, e.g., through the veneration of specific icons. Others were related to Marian apparitions.
Mary's intercession is sought for a large spectrum of human needs in varied situations. This has led to the formulation of many of her titles. Moreover, meditations and devotions on the different aspects of Mary's role in the life of Jesus have led to additional titles, such as Our Lady of Sorrows. Still further titles have been derived from dogmas and doctrines, such as, the Assumption of Mary, Dormition of the Mother of God and Immaculate Conception.
The veneration of Mary was consolidated in the year 431 when, at the Council of Ephesus, the descriptive,, or Mary the bearer of God, was declared a dogma. Thereafter Marian devotion, centred on the subtle and complex relationship between Mary, Jesus, and the Church, began to flourish, first in the East and later in the West.
The Reformation diminished Mary's role in many parts of Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Council of Trent and Counter Reformation intensified Marian devotion among Roman Catholics. Around the same period, Mary became an instrument of evangelisation in the Americas and parts of Asia and Africa, e.g. gaining impetus from reported apparitions at Our Lady of Guadalupe, which resulted in a large number of conversions to Christianity in Mexico.
Following the Reformation, baroque literature on Mary experienced unprecedented growth, with over 500 instances of Mariological writings during the 17th century alone. During the Age of Enlightenment, the emphasis on scientific progress and rationalism put Catholic theology and Mariology often on the defensive later in the 18th century. Books, such as The Glories of Mary by Alphonsus Liguori, were written in defence of the cult of Mary.

Dogmatic titles

Mother of God: The Council of Ephesus decreed in 431 that Mary is because her son Jesus is both God and man: one Divine Person with two natures. This name was translated in the West as Mater Dei or Mother of God. From this derives the title "Blessed Mother".
Virgin Mary: The doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary developed early in Christianity and was taught by the early Fathers, such as, Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria. In the fourth century "ever-virgin" became a popular title for Mary. Variations on this include the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", and "Spouse of the Holy Spirit". The perpetual virginity of Mary was declared a dogma by the Lateran Council of 649.
Immaculate Conception: The dogma that Mary was conceived without original sin was defined in 1854, by Pope Pius IX's apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus. This gave rise to the titles of "Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception" and "Queen Conceived Without Original Sin". The Immaculate Conception is also honored under the titles of Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Caysasay, Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn in Vilnius, Our Lady of Guidance, and Our Lady of Salambao, also in the Philippines.
Assumption: The belief that the Virgin Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven upon completing the course of her earthly life was declared a dogma in 1950 by Pope Pius XII in the apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus. The titles "Our Lady of Assumption" and "Queen Assumed Into Heaven" derive from this. This dogma is also reflected in devotion to Our Lady of Ta' Pinu on Malta.

In the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches the Assumption of Mary may be celebrated as the Dormition, or the "Falling Asleep" of the Mother of God, it is an important feast day, not based on a scriptural canon but affirmed by tradition.

Early titles of Mary

"Our Lady" is a common title to give to Mary as a sign of respect and honor. In French she is called Notre Dame and in Spanish she is Nuestra Señora.

Mary was identified as the "New Eve" at least as early as the later half of the Second Century. Justin Martyr draws the connection in his Dialogue with Trypho. This idea is later expanded by Irenaeus.
John Chrysostom, in 345, was the first person to use the Marian title Mary Help of Christians as a devotion to the Virgin Mary. Don Bosco promoted devotion to Mary under this title.
Stella Maris or Our Lady, Star of the Sea is an ancient title for the Virgin Mary, used to emphasize her role as a sign of hope and a guiding star for Christians. It is attributed to Jerome and cited by Paschasius Radbertus.

English	Latin	Greek	Notes
"Our Lady"	Nostra Domina		Commonly used to prefix many Marian titles
"Full of Grace", "Blessed", "Most Blessed", "Blessed Virgin Mary"	Gratia plena, Beata, Beatissima, Beatae Mariae Virginis	Κεχαριτωμένη	from the angel's greeting to Mary in ;
"Virgin", "the Virgin"	Virgo	Παρθένος	Greek used in ; Ignatius of Antioch refers to Mary's virginity and motherhood ;
"Cause of our Salvation"	causa salutis		according to Irenaeus of Lyons ;
"Mother of God"	Mater Dei	Μήτηρ Θεοῦ	often abbr. ΜΡ ΘΥ in Greek iconography;
"God-bearer"	Deipara, Dei genitrix	Θεοτόκος	lit. "one who gives birth to God"; a common title in Eastern Christianity with christological implications; adopted officially during Council of Ephesus in response to Nestorianism, which questioned the Church's teaching that Jesus Christ's nature was unified;
"Ever-virgin"	semper virgo	ἀειπάρθενος	Hippolytus of Rome held Mary to be "all-holy ever-virgin"
"Holy Mary", "Saint Mary"	Sancta Maria	Ἁγία Μαρία	Greek invocation is infrequent in contemporary Eastern Christianity;
"Most Holy"	Sanctissima, tota Sancta	Παναγία	Hippolytus held Mary to be "all-holy ever-virgin"
"Most Pure"	Purissima		Parallels have been drawn between the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Mother. She travels to the hill country of Judea, where John leaps at her approach, Elizabeth cries out and says "Who Am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me", stays in Zechariah's home for three months, blessing it. Afterward she goes to Jerusalem.
"Immaculate"	immaculata	ἀκήρατος	The Angel Gabriel calls Mary "Full of Grace". This is taken by many Christians to imply that Mary was free from all sin.
"Lady", "Mistress"	Domina	Δέσποινα	related, "Madonna" ; also, "Notre Dame" ;
"Queen of Heaven"	Regina caeli, Regina coeli		As the mother of Jesus, who in mainstream Christianity is God and King of Heaven, multiple Christian denominations give her the title "Queen of Heaven". Mary is identified with the figure in ;
"Queen of all creation"	Regina totius creati		This term is used by Pope Francis in his encyclical letter Laudato si'.

Papal actions

After the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, Pope Pius V instituted the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mother of Victory.
The first Marian image pontifically crowned was Lippo Memmi's painting of La Madonna della Febbre in the sacristy of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome on 27 May 1631, by Pope Urban VIII by the Vatican Chapter.
The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary was adopted as church dogma when Pope Pius IX promulgated Ineffabilis Deus in 1854.
The encyclical Ad diem illum of Pope Pius X commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of the dogma of Immaculate Conception
During World War I, Pope Benedict XV added the invocation Mary Queen of Peace to the Litany of Loreto.
Pope Pius XII issued the Apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus to define ex cathedra the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In 1954, the papal encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam, issued by Pope Pius XII, explained how Mary is Queen of Heaven
In 1960, Pope John XXIII changed the title of the "Feast of the Holy Rosary" to the "Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary."
Pope John Paul II's 1987 encyclical Redemptoris Mater took the step of addressing the role of the Virgin Mary as Mediatrix.
Several Papal actions over the centuries decreed the appellation "Queen of Poland" for Mary, following the solemn vows of King John Casimir Vasa before the papal legate and assembled episcopate, proclaiming Mary "Queen" of all his lands, at Cathedral [Basilica of the Assumption, Lviv|Lwów Cathedral] on 1 April 1656. The last act was of John Paul II on 1 April 2005, on the eve of his death. The feast of The Most [Holy Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland] is on 3 May.

Devotional titles

In the Loreto Litanies Mary's prayers are invoked under more than fifty separate titles, such as "Mother Most Pure", "Virgin Most Prudent", and "Cause of Our Joy".
Other devotional titles include:

Theological Mariology

With the exception of Jesus Christ, who is believed to have a twofold nature, both human and divine,, the Blessed Virgin Mary is considered among many Christians to be the unique human being about whom there is a dogma. She is connected to four different dogmas and numerous Marian titles. Christian invocations, titles, and art bear witness to the prominent role she has been accorded in the history and programme of salvation in parts of Christendom, although this is not shared by many Christian churches.
In the Hail Mary prayer, she is addressed as "full of grace" by Archangel Gabriel of the Annunciation speaking in the Name of God. The Nicene Creed, declares that Jesus was "incarnate by the Holy Ghost and of the Virgin Mary, and was made man". This has given rise to the descriptive, "spouse of the Holy Spirit".
Tradition has it that the Virgin Mother of God was anointed by the Holy Spirit, hence putting her on a par with the anointing of the Kings, Prophets, Judges, and High Priests of Israel, as Jesus Christ is said to have been.
This in turn opens the way to titles such as:

Advocate of the Church
Mediatrix of all graces,
Queen of Angels : the Coronation of the Virgin paintings represent the hierarchy of angels of God while starting to serve Mary forever, after she has accepted to become the Mother of God.
Marian apparitions are said to testify to Mary's gift of prophecy.

In the Catholic Church and in the Orthodox Churches, the Virgin Mother of God is venerated in a special form expressed in Greek as hyperdulia, that is, secondary only to the adoration reserved for the Triune God. She is venerated and honoured in this way since no other being--whether angelic or human--has greater power than Mary to intercede with God in the distribution of Grace to His children.

Titles associated with devotional images

The Black Madonna is a statue or painting of Mary, generally of the 12th to 15th centuries, where she often with the infant Jesus, are depicted as having swarthy or black skin. There are over 450 Black Madonnas in Europe alone. The title given to Mary, usually reflects the location of the image. The Black Madonna of Częstochowa, the Virgin of Candelaria, Our Lady of Ferguson, and Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage are noted examples.
Mother of Good Counsel is a title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary, after a painting said to be miraculous, now found in the thirteenth century Augustinian church at Genazzano, near Rome, Italy.
Mother Thrice Admirable refers to Mary depicted in a painting as Our Lady Refuge of Sinners. Devotion to this invocation of Mary is significant to the Schoenstatt Movement.

Titles of images related to epithets include:
Titles of images related to places of worship include:

Latin America

A number of titles of Mary found in Latin America pertain to cultic images of her represented in iconography identified with a particular already existent title adapted to a particular place. Our Lady of Luján in Argentina refers to a small terracotta image made in Brazil and sent to Argentina in May, 1630. Its appearance seems to have been inspired by Murillo's Immaculates. Our Lady of Copacabana : is a figure related to devotion to Mary under the title "Most Blessed Virgin de la Candelaria, Our Lady of Copacabana". About four feet in height, the statue was made by Francisco Tito Yupanqui around 1583 and is garbed in the colors and dress of an Inca princess.

Titles in the Eastern Orthodox Church

means "God-bearer" and is translated as "Mother of God". This title was given to Mary at the Third Ecumenical Council in Ephesus in 431 AD..

Titles of Mary in Islam

The Qur'an refers to Mary by the following titles:

Ma'suma – "She who never sinned"
Mustafia – "She who is chosen"
Nur – "Light". She has also been called Umm Nur, in reference to 'Isa
Qānitah – the term implies constant submission to Allah, as well as absorption in prayer and invocation.
Rāki’ah – "She who bows down to Allah in worship"
Sa’imah – "She who fasts"
Sājidah – "She who prostrates to Allah in worship"
Siddiqah – "She who accepts as true", "She who has faith", or "She who believes sincerely totally"
Tāhirah – "She who was purified"