girl's name
Marie
ma-REE
- Origin French
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (France)
- Births on record 2,819,917
the United States
#618
2025 births
Marie is a girl's name of Hebrew origin, the French form of Mary, and the largest name in our entire dataset with more than 2.8 million births on record. It ranks 101st in France today, having peaked in 1901.
- Marie is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 1901, when 53,170 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 1,156 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Marie over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 500,005 |
| 1910s | 335,040 |
| 1920s | 326,380 |
| 1930s | 250,045 |
| 1940s | 266,685 |
| 1950s | 217,575 |
| 1960s | 107,920 |
| 1970s | 53,980 |
| 1980s | 74,380 |
| 1990s | 69,700 |
| 2000s | 39,815 |
| 2010s | 11,970 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,480 |
What Marie means
Marie has no agreed meaning. The Hebrew Miriam has been read as bitter, as beloved, as rebellious and as drop of the sea, and none of these is settled — the name is almost certainly older than the explanations offered for it.
Where Marie comes from
Marie is the French form of Maria, from the Hebrew Miryam, borne by the sister of Moses and by the mother of Jesus. Its derivation has never been resolved: proposals include the Hebrew mar, bitter, marah, rebellious, and a Egyptian root meaning beloved, the last being plausible given the name's appearance in a family with Egyptian connections. The frequent gloss star of the sea comes from stella maris, a medieval Latin epithet based on a misreading of an earlier gloss, and is a title rather than an etymology. In France the name was so universal that it was routinely given as a first name to boys in compounds such as Jean-Marie.
Marie in use
Marie holds more than 2.8 million births in our records, which makes it the largest name in our entire dataset across six of the seven markets. It peaked in 1901 and now ranks 101st in France, appearing also in Northern Ireland and Ireland. That trajectory — from the most common name in the French-speaking world to the low hundreds — is the steepest long decline we hold for any name of that size.
How popular is Marie?
In 2025, Marie was given to 510 babies in France, ranking #101 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Marie is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Marie
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Marie also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Marie over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Marie
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.
Marie 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.
- Arabic
- Maria
- Breton
- Mari
- Bulgarian
- Mariya
- Catalan
- Maria
- Croatian
- Marija
- Danish
- Maria
- French
- Amarie
- German
- Maria
- Hungarian
- Mari
- Icelandic
- Mari
- Italian
- Maria
- Latin
- Maria
- Latvian
- Marija
- Lithuanian
- Marija
- Norwegian
- Mari
- Portuguese
- Maria
- Romanian
- Maria
- Russian
- Mariya
- Serbian
- Marija
- Slovene
- Marija
- Sorbian
- Marija
- Welsh
- Mari
Sibling names for Marie
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Marie — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Marie
What does the name Marie mean?
There is no agreed meaning. Miriam has been read as bitter, beloved, rebellious and drop of the sea.
Does Marie mean star of the sea?
That comes from stella maris, a medieval Latin title based on a misreading. It is not an etymology.
Was Marie used for boys?
In France, yes, in compounds such as Jean-Marie.
How common is Marie?
It holds more than 2.8 million births in our records — the largest name in our entire dataset.
How many syllables are in Marie?
Marie has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Marie?
Marie is usually shortened to Manon.
Is Marie a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Marie currently ranks #101 in France. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.