Given name & surname · also Latin, French
Mary
“star of the sea”·“from the sea of bitterness”
Mary is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “star of the sea” and “from the sea of bitterness”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Original LatinMaria
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “star of the sea” and “from the sea of bitterness”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with French and Latin naming traditions. The precise derivation is uncertain.
How it developed
In Cebuano usage, Mary developed from Maria.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Mary has a related form in Maura. The history of Maura gives this family its wider story. Maura’s Christian associations include Saint Maura, a 5th-century martyr, of whom very little is known.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Mary appears in Matthew 1:16, Matthew 1:20, Luke 1:27 and 3 other passages.
- Matthew 1:16
- Matthew 1:20
- Luke 1:27
- Matthew 27:56
- John 19:25
- John 11:1
From biblical name research
Mary through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 4,156,654
- 15,173 boys · 4,141,481 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 74,171 babies
- 2025
- 2,230
- #125 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −9%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 2,230 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 125 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 8.8% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 73,984 in 1921. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (176). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,768,343 as a first name in 2020; 2,471 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.
Mary’s family of names
In English usage, Mary has a diminutive in Molly. In Cebuano usage, Mary developed from the Latin form Maria. In Danish usage, Mary has a related form in Marie.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Mary has relatives in 62 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.
77 related names in 62 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 89
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Miapet form
- Mayavariant · English
- Mariavariant · Swedish, Norwegian
- Mollypet form · English
- Marenvariant
- Marievariant · Norwegian, Danish
- Mariellapet form
- Molliediminutive · English
Show 52 moreShow fewer
- Maypet form · English
- Mauravariant · English
- Mayravariant
- Pollynickname · English
- Mairavariant
- Minniediminutive · English
- Mallievariant
- Mariettapet form
- Majapet form · Swedish
- Marylouvariant
- Daisiediminutive · English
- Mitzipet form
- Mamiediminutive · English
- Marybethvariant
- Maribethvariant
- Maritavariant
- Mariluvariant
- Mashavariant
- Maryavariant
- Maricruzvariant
- Melevariant · Hawaiian
- Manyavariant
- Maryjovariant
- Manonvariant
- Maryleevariant
- Maijavariant
- Malvariant
- Marrylikely variant
- Mairivariant
- Mailivariant
- Miekepet form
- Mmarylikely variant
- Maryevariant · English
- Maymediminutive · English
- Marediminutive · English
- Muravariant
- Murronvariant
- Mirenvariant · Basque
- Marquillavariant
- Masiavariant
- Mairevariant
- Maerynvariant
- Maryonvariant
- Maryluvariant
- Maritsavariant
- Mariquitavariant
- Maridelvariant
- Maricevariant
- Marettevariant
- Marettavariant
- Manettevariant
- Maniapet form
And 29 more.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 88
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Miriamdoublet · English
- Maryamdoublet · English, German
- Maliarelated form · Hawaiian
- MarioEsperanto
- Mariahdoublet · English
- Marilynrelated form
- Marielrelated form
- Marionmasculine form · English
Show 52 moreShow fewer
- Marirelated form · Breton, Welsh
- Maribelrelated form
- Mariyaequivalent
- Maureenrelated form
- MeryemTurkish
- Mindelrelated form
- Marjanrelated form
- Meryequivalent
- Meriequivalent
- Mariskarelated form
- Myequivalent
- Mariiaequivalent
- Mareeequivalent
- Merjemequivalent
- Maariaequivalent
- Marijacognate · Latvian, Serbo-Croatian
- Marlisrelated form
- Marialequivalent
- MeriamMalay
- MayreeManx
- MarjaFinnish
- mriymequivalent
- मरिequivalent
- മറിയംequivalent
- મરિયમequivalent
- Маріаequivalent
- Məryəmequivalent
- María Juanaequivalent
- Маріяequivalent
- Марыяequivalent
- მარიამიequivalent
- Maria Joanaequivalent
- Maria Juanaequivalent
- Morajăequivalent
- مريمequivalent
- Mereanaequivalent
- Maříequivalent
- Márjáequivalent
- МарийRussian
- МэриRussian
- МериRussian
- Марьяcognate · Russian
- Марияcognate · Russian
- മേരിborrowing · Malayalam
- మేరీborrowing · Telugu
- แมรีderivative · Thai
- 茉莉borrowing · Japanese
- 瑪利borrowing · Chinese
- 瑪莉borrowing · Chinese
- 瑪麗borrowing · Chinese
- ΜαίρηGreek
- MeyroKurdish
And 28 more.
See also 23
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
- Maisiealso known as · English
- Madeleinesee also
- Marashares a root
- Marthashares a root
- Moriahshares a root
- Mercedessee also
- Moirasee also
- Mordecaishares a root
Show 15 moreShow fewer
People named Mary
- Mary ShelleyEnglish writer (1797–1851)
- Meryl StreepAmerican actressborn 1949
- Mary WollstonecraftEnglish writer and intellectual (1759–1797)
- Liz TrussPrime Minister of the United Kingdom in 2022born 1975
- Mary, Queen of ScotsQueen of Scotland from 1542 to 1567 (1542–1587)
- Mary IQueen of England and Ireland from 1553 to 1558 (1516-1558)
- Mary PickfordCanadian actress and producer (1892–1979)
- Mary CassattAmerican painter and printmaker (1844—1926)
- Debbie ReynoldsAmerican actress, singer, and dancer (1932–2016)
Characters named Mary: Mary Jane Watson (Marvel Comics), Mary Poppins (fictional nanny, lead character in the Mary Poppins fantasy book series and its adaptations), Mary Morstan (Sherlock Holmes character), Mary Alice Young (Desperate Housewives).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
- Biblical names
- Multiple Middle Names
- The Rhyming Game: given-name examples
- Catholic middle-name examples
- Most Popular Names of the 1960s
- Most popular names in the 1960s
- Most popular names in the 1940s
- Mary variations
- Early Beginnings: settler names
- Straight-cut feminine names
- Most Popular Names of the 1950s
- Most Popular Names of the 1940s
- Most Popular Names of the 1930s
- Most Popular Names of the 1920s
- Most Popular Names of the 1910s
- Most Popular Names of the 1900s
- Most Popular Names of the 1890s
- Explorers
- Children's Lit
- Poets
- Biblical Names: familiar examples
- The Classics
- Most Popular Names of 2006
- Classic Names
- Stunt Performers
- Senators
- Names That Command Respect
- Amish Names
- Painters
- Presidential Names
- Jockeys
- Bull Riders
- Biblical Names
- Track and Field Stars
- Saint Names
- Royalty
Similar names
If you love Mary, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Lillian
“resembling the lily”
>99% girls
Margaret
“resembling a pearl” · “the child of light”
>99% girls
Anna
“a woman graced with God's favor”
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Eva
“giver of life; a lively woman”
>99% girls
Adele
“of the nobility; serene; of good humor”
>99% girls
Viola
“resembling the purplishblue flower”
>99% girls
Harriet
“ruler of the house” · “home”
>99% girls
Manuela
“God is with us”
>99% girls