A LITTLE UNCOMMON. ENTIRELY YOURS.
Meaning, origin and pronunciation, with published usage by place and year.
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Original root meaning uncertain.
Maria traces through Latin and Greek to the Hebrew Miriam name family. The linked Mary entry explicitly describes the inherited root meaning as uncertain; bitter is not assigned as a settled universal translation.
Hebrew ancestry, through Aramaic, Greek and Latin
The English given-name entry traces Maria through Latin and Greek to Aramaic and Biblical Hebrew Miriam. It shares a historical name family with Mary and Marie. Unrelated language-name and other senses are excluded; no literal meaning is inferred.
/məˈɹiːə/; /məˈɹaɪə/
English readings; the source describes the first as usual and the second as especially associated with the spelling Mariah. Other languages use different readings.
Recorded English reading, as published. Accents and preferred pronunciations can differ.
Counts apply only to the exact spelling, place, year and recorded usage shown. Places are separate; these figures are never added into a worldwide total. Missing or suppressed records never mean zero.
| Place | Year | Recorded usage | Published births | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 2025 | Girls | 388 · preliminary | 62 | 2025 figures are preliminary. Quebec counts below five are randomly imputed by the publisher before national aggregation. Accents are removed in the source; this profile was matched only where the catalog spelling was unambiguous. Unpublished values are unknown, not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| France | 2025 | Girls | 735 (rounded to 5) | 60 | Counts are rounded to the nearest multiple of five. Ranks use unrounded publisher counts with randomly ordered ties; equally rounded counts can have different ranks. National coverage excludes Mayotte before 2012. Missing years are unavailable, not zero. Automated direction labels are withheld for this rounded-count series. Rank basis: source published. |
| France | 1914 | Boys | 5 (rounded to 5) | 811 | Counts are rounded to the nearest multiple of five. Ranks use unrounded publisher counts with randomly ordered ties; equally rounded counts can have different ranks. National coverage excludes Mayotte before 2012. Missing years are unavailable, not zero. Automated direction labels are withheld for this rounded-count series. Rank basis: source published. |
| England & Wales | 2025 | Girls | 522 | 88 | Published ranks differ from ranks calculated over visible rows. Counts retained; automated trend labels withheld. Rank basis: source published. |
| Northern Ireland | 2025 | Girls | 22 | 94 | Two rank discrepancies and alternate-view differences retained. Automated trend labels withheld. Rank basis: source published. |
| Scotland | 2025 | Girls | 35 | 129 | Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| Ireland | 2025 | Girls | 68 | 74 | Names below three occurrences are unpublished. Accent recording changed in 2018; comparisons across that boundary may not describe the same spelling coverage. Counts refer to registrations in the year. Missing years are unavailable, not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| United States | 2025 | Girls | 2,887 | 87 | Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: calculated from published counts. |
| United States | 2025 | Boys | 6 | 10695 | Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: calculated from published counts. |
Canada, Ireland and France coverage includes confidently matched existing profiles only; unmatched spellings are awaiting review. French counts are rounded to five.
Open an entry for its source, credit, licence and full qualifications. Different name traditions remain separate.
Checked against cited source
Maria traces through Latin and Greek to the Hebrew Miriam name family. The linked Mary entry explicitly describes the inherited root meaning as uncertain; bitter is not assigned as a settled universal translation. Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted and condensed by Rare Baby Names; CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). No source audio reused.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
Mara may serve as a shortened form of Maria or Tamara according to the reviewed entry. This use is distinct from the Hebrew name tradition and is not universal; counts remain separate.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
Nickname option: Mia can be used for Maria. The exact English given-name entry explicitly records this diminutive relationship in German, Dutch and North Germanic traditions. It is one documented route, not a claim that every Mia was legally named Maria. Spelling statistics stay separate. Popularity counts remain separate. Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Source: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Mia&oldid=91746867. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Adaptation: Rare Baby Names presents a reviewed reverse link from the documented short-form entry, retaining language, rare-use and uncertainty qualifications. No source audio reused.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
Documented as a short form of Maria in Italian usage. This is an optional naming relationship, not a nickname assumed for every bearer. Other language traditions and popularity records remain separate. Credit: Wiktionary contributors, Mimi entry. Source: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Mimi&oldid=90247507. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Adaptation: the explicit short-form relationship is condensed and labelled by language; no pronunciation, audio or images transferred.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
The English given-name entry traces Maria through Latin and Greek to Aramaic and Biblical Hebrew Miriam. It shares a historical name family with Mary and Marie. Unrelated language-name and other senses are excluded; no literal meaning is inferred.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
English readings; the source describes the first as usual and the second as especially associated with the spelling Mariah. Other languages use different readings.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
Related English forms with a shared linguistic source; not interchangeable spellings or a nickname claim. Popularity counts remain separate.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
The Mary entry traces the shared Hebrew/Aramaic name family and explicitly marks the root meaning uncertain. Maria’s own entry documents its Latin and Greek transmission. This supports uncertainty without substituting Mary’s pronunciation for Maria. Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted and condensed by Rare Baby Names; CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). No source audio reused.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
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Attribution: Source: NISRA : Website: www.nisra.gov.uk
License: Open Government Licence v3.0
Attribution: (C) Crown copyright. Data supplied by National Records of Scotland.
License: Open Government Licence v3.0
Attribution: Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence
License: Open Government Licence v3.0
Attribution: U.S. Social Security Administration
Credit: Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0147-01, 1991–2025, released 23 September 2026.
License: Statistics Canada Open Licence
Adaptation: Adapted from Statistics Canada, First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators, Table 17-10-0147-01, reference years 1991–2025. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Credit: Central Statistics Office, Ireland, VSA50 and VSA60, updated 27 February 2026.
License: CC BY 4.0
Adaptation: Adapted by Rare Baby Names: joined the published count and rank indicators and matched unambiguous existing spellings. Source values retained.
Credit: Source : Insee, Fichier des prénoms, updated 16 July 2026.
License: Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab)
Adaptation: Adapted by Rare Baby Names: column names and sex codes mapped and unique case-only spellings matched to existing profiles. Published rounded counts and ranks retained.
