Given name & surname
Maire
“star of the sea”·“from the sea of bitterness”
Maire is a variant of Mary. Interpretations include “star of the sea” and “from the sea of bitterness”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Original IrishMáire
Meaning & origin
What it means
Maire is a variant of Mary. Interpretations include “star of the sea” and “from the sea of bitterness”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English usage, Maire developed from Máire.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1901. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Maire through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 914
- 0 boys · 914 girls
- Most popular year
- 1997
- 26 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −43%
- Cooling
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 2024. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 26 in 1997. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,069 as a first name in 2020; 656 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Maire’s family of names
In Estonian usage, Maire has a masculine form in MAIRO. Maire has a related form in Mary. In English usage, Maire developed from the Irish form Máire.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 5
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Maire
- Maire ÖsterdahlFinnish long jumper and sprinter (1927-2013)
- Maire GullichsenFinland Swedish art patron (1907-1990)
- Maire AunasteEstonian journalist and politician (born 1953)
- Maire MännikEstonian-French sculptor (1922-2003)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Maire, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Delaney
“the dark challenger” · “from the elder-tree grove”
1% boys · 99% girls
Maricia
“woman of the sea”
>99% girls
Mulvenna
“descendant of the chieftain of the Main river”
—
Mulvaney
“descendant of the chieftain of the Main river”
—
Mulvany
“descendant of the chieftain of the Main river”
—
Marlea
“from the meadow near the lake” · “of the marshy meadow”
>99% girls
Marnina
“woman of the sea”
>99% girls
Carberry
“tree”
—