girl's name
Maria
muh-REE-uh
- Origin Hebrew
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 100 (US)
- Births on record 759,939
the United States
#87
2025 births
Maria is a girl's name of Hebrew origin, the Latin and Greek form of Miryam. Its meaning is genuinely unresolved — proposals include "bitter," "beloved," "wished-for child" and an Egyptian root meaning beloved, and no reading has been established.
- Maria is a name of Hebrew origin.
- Peaked in 1964, when 10,197 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,146 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Maria over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,732 |
| 1890s | 2,866 |
| 1900s | 4,174 |
| 1910s | 11,430 |
| 1920s | 22,895 |
| 1930s | 20,988 |
| 1940s | 35,876 |
| 1950s | 62,808 |
| 1960s | 89,321 |
| 1970s | 77,018 |
| 1980s | 66,714 |
| 1990s | 71,444 |
| 2000s | 57,191 |
| 2010s | 29,037 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 16,895 |
What Maria means
Maria has no settled meaning. The traditional gloss of bitter comes from the Hebrew mar, but scholars also propose beloved, rebellious, wished-for child, and a derivation from the Egyptian mry, to love — reflecting that Miriam appears in a text set in Egypt.
Where Maria comes from
Maria is the Latin form of the Greek Mariam and Maria, themselves renderings of the Hebrew Miryam, the name of Moses's sister in Exodus. Its etymology has been debated for centuries without resolution: candidate roots include mar, bitter, marah, rebellious, and the Egyptian mry, beloved, the last gaining support from the name's setting in an Egyptian context. As the name of the mother of Jesus it became the most widely used female name in Christian Europe, generating Mary in English, Marie in French, María in Spanish and Maryam in Arabic. The title Stella Maris, star of the sea, arose from a medieval misreading of one proposed etymology rather than from the name itself.
Maria in use
"Star of the sea" is a medieval misreading rather than a real derivation, but it produced centuries of hymns and imagery.
How popular is Maria?
In 2025, Maria was given to 2,893 babies in the United States, ranking #87 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Where Maria is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Maria is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Marïa | Marïa is a rare spelling of Maria, written with a diaeresis and recorded about 15 times, mostly in France. | 15 |
Names that peaked alongside Maria
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Maria also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Maria over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Maria
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Maria in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Maria
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Maria — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Maria
What does the name Maria mean?
Its meaning is unresolved — proposals include bitter, beloved, rebellious and wished-for child.
Is Maria the same name as Mary?
Yes. Both descend from the Hebrew Miryam through Greek and Latin.
Does Maria mean star of the sea?
That title came from a medieval misreading of a proposed etymology, not from the name itself.
How popular is the name Maria?
In 2025, Maria was given to 2,893 babies in the United States, ranking #87 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Is Maria a girl's or a boy's name?
Maria is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Maria?
Maria has 3 syllables.
When was Maria most popular?
Maria peaked in 1964, when 10,197 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Maria?
Maria is usually shortened to Mia and Ria.
Is Maria a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Maria currently ranks #60 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.