Maria

Hebrew or Egyptian
"drop of the sea, bitter, or beloved"

Maria Origin and Meaning

The name Maria is a girl's name of Aramaic, Latin origin meaning "drop of the sea, bitter, or beloved".

As a highly popular girls’ name in all Spanish-speaking countries, this saintly Latin variation of Mary retains a timeless beauty. Through the centuries, Maria remains one of the most widely-used girl names starting with M.

This widespread name understandably has produced notable namesakes in almost every field – opera's Maria Callas (born Sophia Cecelia), tennis's Sharapova, education's Montessori, ad infinitum. And she's been celebrated in song as well, from Ave Maria to the eponymous song in West Side Story to "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?" in The Sound of Music.

While the usual English pronunciation these days is the same as it is in non-English-speaking countries – mah-REE-ah – the British used to pronounce it mah-RYE-ah, like Mariah Carey.

Maria ultimately dervies from the Hebrew name Maryam/Mariam. The original meaning of Maryam is uncertain, but theories include "drop of the sea" (from Hebrew roots mar "drop" and yam "sea"); "bitter" (from Hebrew marah "bitterness"); and "beloved" (from the Egyptian root mr).

# 82 in the US

Maria Rank in US Top 1000

# 334 on Nameberry

Maria Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Maria Popularity

Famous People Named Maria

  • Saint Maria Goretti
    Italian virgin martyr
  • Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina
    Holy Roman Empress
  • Maria I (born Maria Francisca Isabel Josefa Antónia Gertrudes Rita Joana)
    Queen of Portugal
  • Maria II (born Maria da Glória Joana Carlota Leopoldina da Cruz Francisca Xavier de Paula Isidora Micaela Gabriela Rafaela Gonzaga)
    Queen of Portugal
  • Maria of Montferrat
    Queen of Jerusalem
  • Maria Vladimirovna
    Grand Duchess of Russia
  • Maria Feodorovna (born Marie Sophie Frederikke Dagmar)
    Empress consort of Alexander III of Russia
  • Maria of Austria
    Holy Roman Empress consort of Maximilian II
  • Maria Anna of Spain
    Holy Roman Empress consort of Ferdinand III
  • Maria Komnene
    Queen consort of Amalric I of Jerusalem
  • Maria of Aragon
    Queen consort of Manuel I of Portugal
  • Maria Pia of Savoy
    Queen consort of Luís I of Portugal
  • Maria of Romania
    Queen consort of Alexander of Yugoslavia
  • Maria of Bytom
    Queen consort of Charles I of Hungary
  • Maria Kazimiera
    Queen consort of Jan III Sobieski of Poland
  • Maria Luisa of Parma
    Queen consort of Charles IV of Spain
  • Maria Christina Henriette Desideria Felicitas Raineria of Austria
    Queen consort of Alfonso XII of Spain
  • María Teresa Mestre y Batista
    Grand Duchess consort of Henri of Luxembourg
  • Maria Nikolaevna
    Grand Duchess of Russia, daughter of Nicholas II
  • Maria Alexandrovna
    Grand Duchess of Russia, Duchess of Edinburgh
  • Maria Pavlovna the Younger
    Grand Duchess of Russia, Duchess of Södermanland
  • (Ludovica Teresa) Maria Clotilde of Savoy
    Princess Napoléon
  • Maria Owings Shriver
    American journalist
  • Maria Callas (b. Sophia Cecelia Kalos)
    Greek,born opera singer
  • Maria Yuryevna Sharapova
    Russian tennis player
  • Maria Romanovna Sotskova
    Russian Figure skater
  • Maria Ewing
    opera singer & Rebecca Hall's mother
  • Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko
    Russian tennis player
  • Maria Louise Kanellis
    American pro wrestler
  • Mari­a Jose Marti­nez Sanchez
    Spanish tennis player
  • Maria Teresa Dizzia
    American actress
  • Maria Pitillo
    American actress
  • Maria Lewis
    Reynolds, Alexander Hamilton's mistress
  • Maria Hester
    U.S. President James Monroe's child
  • Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow
    American actress
  • Maria Goeppert
    Mayer, physicist & Nobel prize winner
  • Maria V Snyder
    American novelist
  • Maria Gripe (Maja Stina Walter)
    Swedish children's novelist
  • Maria Augusta von Trapp
    Austrian singer (Sound of Music)
  • Maria Muldaur (Maria D'Amato)
    American singer,songwriter
  • Maria Edgeworth
    Anglo,Irish children's novelist
  • Maria Menounos
    American actress and TV presenter
  • Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia Mozart
    Austrian musician
  • Maria Margarethe Anna Schell
    Austrian,Swiss actress
  • Maria Sara Bartiromo
    American journalist
  • Maria Mazowiecka
    princess of Masovia
  • Maria Antonina (Maryla) Rodowicz
    Polish singer
  • Maria Zofia Dulęba
    Polish actress
  • Maria aka Gentlewhispering
    YouTuber
  • Maria Adela
    daughter of American actress Penelope Miller
  • Maria Makino
    Japanese pop singer and member of Morning Musume
  • Maria Tolkacheva
    Russian rhythmic gymnast
  • Maria Kravtsova
    Russian rhythmic gymnast
  • Anastasia Maria Dogrammatzi
    Greek rhythmic gymnast
  • Maria Ioanna Mandellou
    Greek rhythmic gymnast
  • Maria Sol Perez
    model called "Argentina's hottest weather girl"
  • Maria Montessori
    Italian physician and educator
  • Maria Reiche
    German archaeologist
  • Maria Sibylla Merian
    German naturalist
  • Maria Teresa Mirabal
    Dominican activist

Maria in Pop Culture

  • Maria von Trapp
    main character in "The Sound of Music"
  • Maria Nunez
    main character in musical "West Side Story"
  • Maria Merryweather
    character in "The Little White Horse"
  • Maria Wong
    character in animated series "Braceface"
  • Maria Moonlit
    or Alice Merry,Go,Round, mother of Adam Moonlit and false prophet in the Evillious Chronicles
  • Maria Ruiz
    character on TV's "Orange Is the New Black"
  • Maria Hill
    Marvel comics and movies character
  • Maria Stark
    character from Marvel's Iron Man and mother of Tony Stark
  • Maria
    character from video game Silent Hill 2
  • Maria
    character from Shakespeare's "Love's Labour's Lost"
  • Maria
    wall 'protecting' humanity in anime 'Attack on Titan'
  • Maria Duszynska
    character from Wood's "Night Trains"
  • Maria Jane Connor
    from British soap "Coronation Street"
  • Maria Santos Grey
    character on soap "All My Children"
  • Maria Roberts
    character on soap "One Life to Live"
  • Maria
    maid in Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night"
  • Maria Mendoza
    character in "The House of the Scorpion"
  • Maria Dias
    character in G. A. Henty's "Treasure of the Incas"
  • María Posada
    character in animated film "The Book of Life"
  • Maria
    character on TV's "Sesame Street"
  • Maria Bertram
    character in Jane Austen's novel "Mansfield Park"
  • Maria Nikolaevna Bolkonskaya
    character in "War & Peace"
  • Maria Akizuki
    character in "From the New World"
  • Maria "Masha" Ovchinnikova
    character in "Not Dead or Undead"
  • Maria Stokes
    character in the Addicted Series
  • Cala Maria
    character in the videogame “Cuphead”
  • "Maria
    " song by Green Day
  • "O Maria
    " song by Beck
  • "Maria
    " song by Ricky Martin
  • "Maria
    " song by Blondie
  • "They Call the Wind Maria
    " song in "Paint Your Wagon"
  • Maria Renard
    character in the video game series "Castlevania"