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).

Maria Rank in US Top 1000

# 82 in the US

Maria Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 384 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Maria

• 82 US 2023
• 384 Nameberry 2025
• 77 Canada 2023
• 84 Future 2035
• 78 England 2023
• 123 Scotland 2024
• 74 Ireland 2024
• 97 New Zealand 2014
• 63 France 2023
• 44 Germany 2024
• 69 Netherlands 2024
• 47 Italy 2023
• 4 Spain 2023
• 1 Portugal 2023
• 40 Mexico 2021
• 89 Sweden 2024
• 50 Norway 2020
• 51 Iceland 2018
• 66 Belgium 2023
• 39 Switzerland 2023
• 56 Austria 2023
• 10 Poland 2024
• 10 Estonia 2024
• 13 Chile 2021

20 Names Similar to Maria

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Maria.

• Amanda
• Rachel
• Rebecca
• Angela
• Marie
• Amy
• Laura
• Christine
• Jennifer
• Stephanie
• Christina
• Rebekah
• Melissa
• Sarah
• Samantha
• Gabrielle
• Danielle
• Jessica
• Katherine
• Lisa

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

The name 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"

International Variations of the name Maria

• Mali Spanish
• Maritza Spanish