girl's name
Maureen
maw-REEN
- Origin Irish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 155,099
Northern Ireland
#474
2006 births
Maureen is the Irish Máirín, a diminutive of Máire, which is itself the Irish form of Mary. So it means little Mary, and Mary's own meaning has never been established despite many centuries of proposals.
- Maureen is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in 1957, when 4,606 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 103,605 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1896.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Maureen over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1890s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1890s | 12 |
| 1900s | 91 |
| 1910s | 703 |
| 1920s | 1,981 |
| 1930s | 11,488 |
| 1940s | 30,324 |
| 1950s | 42,901 |
| 1960s | 34,537 |
| 1970s | 10,698 |
| 1980s | 7,144 |
| 1990s | 3,018 |
| 2000s | 1,035 |
| 2010s | 478 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 194 |
What Maureen means
Maureen means little Mary. Mary itself has no securely known meaning: bitterness, beloved and wished-for child are all proposed for the Hebrew Miriam and none is settled.
Where Maureen comes from
Maureen anglicizes the Irish Máirín — Máire, the Irish Mary, with the -ín diminutive that also gives Cáitlín, Nóirín and Róisín. Irish kept Máire for ordinary use and reserved Muire for the Virgin alone, a distinction English does not make. Miriam, the Hebrew original, belongs to Moses' sister and may not be Hebrew at all — an Egyptian derivation has been proposed, which would fit the setting of Exodus. The star of the sea reading is a medieval Latin gloss on Miriam that does not hold up.
Maureen in use
Maureen peaked in the United States in 1957, when 4,606 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 2240th in France on 15 births, 3618th in England and Wales and 4441st in the United States on 32, across 155,099 lifetime births in three of the seven markets we track. It does not currently chart in Ireland, where the name it anglicizes comes from.
How popular is Maureen?
In 2025, Maureen was given to 32 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Maureen 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.
Names that peaked alongside Maureen
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Maureen also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Maureen over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Maureen
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.
Maureen 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 Maureen
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Maureen — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Maureen
What does the name Maureen mean?
Little Mary — the Irish Máirín, from Máire with a diminutive ending.
Does Mary mean star of the sea?
That is a medieval Latin gloss that does not hold up. Mary's meaning has never been established.
Why do Irish names use Máire and Muire differently?
Muire is reserved for the Virgin alone; Máire is the ordinary name. English makes no such distinction.
How popular is Maureen?
4441st in the United States, and it does not currently chart in Ireland.
Is Maureen a girl's or a boy's name?
Maureen is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Maureen?
Maureen has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Maureen?
Maureen is usually shortened to Mo.
Is Maureen a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Maureen currently ranks #2,240 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.