Mary

How to say it

/ˈmɛr.i/

What it means

English form of the Hebrew Miriam via Latin Maria. Root meanings contested: 'beloved,' 'bitter,' or 'wished-for child.' The mother of Jesus, and through her, the most-named name in Western history.

Mary is the English form of the Hebrew Miriam, arriving through Latin Maria and Old French Marie. The root is debated: 'beloved' (from an Egyptian source), 'bitter' (mar), or 'wished-for child.' Through the cult of the Virgin Mary, the name was the dominant Western feminine name for nearly a thousand years — at peaks more than 20% of US baby girls were named Mary. The 20th century saw it slide; it left the top 100 in 2009. It's still the most common feminine middle name and shows signs of a vintage-revival comeback. Molly, Polly, Mamie, and Mae all started as nicknames for Mary; each became its own name.

Heads-up notes

• Nickname

  The historical nickname tree is unusually deep: Molly, Polly, Mamie, Mae, May, and the diminutive Mariam. Most have separated into independent names.

• Pop culture

  The Virgin Mary is the unavoidable association; some families lean in, others find the name's saturation across centuries makes it feel almost generic.

Who's worn it

Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.

• The Virgin Mary Mother of Jesus, the most-depicted woman in Western art
• Mary Shelley English novelist, Frankenstein, 1818
• Mary Cassatt American Impressionist painter, mother-and-child subjects

Spelling variants

• Maria
• Marie
• María
• Miriam

Names with the same feeling

• Maria Beloved, or 'bitter'
• Miriam Beloved, or 'bitter'
• Anna Favor, grace
• Ruth Friend, companion
• Sarah Princess, noblewoman

See Mary from another angle