Every Girl Name

Girl's name

Maria

Say it muh-REE-uh

Hebrew origin from Miriam, possibly bitter 3 syllables

Sister names Middle names Deal sisters

Where Maria is loved, common and rare

Loved in Spain and two more places. Common across Poland, six German cities, Switzerland and 13 more places. Rare in Scotland, British Columbia and Slovenia.

1 in 311 girls born in Ireland in 2025

Every place

In 28 of the 40 official lists, among them Catalonia (10th), Poland (11th) and Berlin (23rd).

Show all 28 placesShow less
PlaceRankGirlsShare
Spain4th 20242,189rank only
Catalonia region10th 20252401 in 80
Poland11th 20252,5361 in 47
Berlin city23rd 202384about 1 in 173
Switzerland32nd 20251611 in 211
Munich city35th 202534about 1 in 123
Italy51st 20247421 in 241
Austria53rd 20251511 in 237
France60th 20257401 in 388
The Netherlands61st 2025217about 1 in 281
Ontario province61st 2024148about 1 in 368
Norway61st 20251031 in 212
Ireland74th 2025681 in 311
Cologne city74th 202317about 1 in 361
Quebec province79th 202570about 1 in 371
Israel מריה81st 2024244about 1 in 322
England and Wales88th 20255221 in 485
Northern Ireland94th 2025221 in 331
Sweden98th 2025108about 1 in 372
Scotland129th 2025351 in 511
British Columbia province156th 202319about 1 in 629
Slovenia232nd 20255about 1 in 1,322
Moscow city Мария3rd 20251,764rank only
Estonia7th 202553rank only
Argentina20th 20242,966rank only
Bonn city20th 202518about 1 in 168
Rostock city23rd 20256about 1 in 164
Leipzig city41st 202511about 1 in 239

Rare, below the listed names: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, New Zealand and Hungary.

Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Turkey (top 30) and Croatia (top 50).

Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.

Israel publishes names in Hebrew script. The Latin spelling shown is our transliteration; the published form is shown beside it.

Moscow publishes names in Cyrillic. The Latin spelling shown is our transliteration; the published form is shown beside it.

Sources: INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística) (Spain); Idescat (Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya) (Catalonia); Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji, rejestr PESEL (dane.gov.pl) (Poland); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); Landeshauptstadt München, Statistisches Amt (opendata.muenchen.de) (Munich); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (the Netherlands); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); Statistics Norway (SSB) (Norway); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel) (Israel); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); NISRA (Northern Ireland); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Statistični urad Republike Slovenije (SURS), SiStat (Slovenia); Moscow Civil Registry Office (ZAGS), data.mos.ru (Moscow); Siseministeerium (rahvastikuregister) (Estonia); RENAPER, Dirección Nacional de Población (datos.gob.ar) (Argentina); Bundesstadt Bonn, Standesamt (opendata.bonn.de) (Bonn); Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock (opendata-hro.de) (Rostock); Stadt Leipzig, Standesamt (opendata.leipzig.de) (Leipzig). How we count, and every source

About the name

The Latin form of the Hebrew Miriam, Maria was passed down through Koine Greek and Aramaic. It is the name of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and its meaning is uncertain, possibly 'bitter'.

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In English it has three syllables, muh-REE-uh. María and Mária are accented spellings, and Mary, Marie, Miriam and Mari are forms of the same name, with Marika a familiar pet form in some languages.

Maria is a top-ten name in Spain, Estonia and Catalonia, while in Ontario, Ireland and Quebec it ranks lower. In the French records the median Maria was born in 1967, which marks it as a long-established classic rather than a new trend. Today it is falling in more places than it is rising.

Meaning, origin, pronunciation

Pronounced
muh-REE-uh, 3 syllables
Meaning
from Miriam, possibly bitter
Origin
Hebrew
Other spellings
  • Mary
  • Marie
  • Miriam
  • Maia
  • Mare
  • Mari
  • Marika
  • Miia
  • Maja
  • Marion
  • Marlene
  • Marlies
  • Maya
  • Mia
  • Malia
  • Maryam
  • Mirjam
  • Maarja
  • Maie
  • Maila
  • Malle
  • Maris
  • Marje
  • Marju
  • Merili
  • Merilin
  • Maike
  • Mareike

Counted together here: María and Mária.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin Maria, borrowed from Koine Greek Μᾰρῐ́ᾱ (Mărĭ́ā), borrowed from Aramaic מרים, borrowed from Biblical Hebrew מִרְיָם (miryɔm). Doublet of Mary, Marie, and Miriam.

From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.

Over time

Over five years: rising in 3 of 28 regions, falling in 6.

Show the yearsShow less

Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.

Catalonia 2nd 1997 to 10th 2025
1st10th100th1000th19962025
Poland 31st 2000 to 11th 2025
1st10th100th1000th19962025
Berlin 3rd 2012 to 23rd 2023
1st10th100th1000th19962025
Switzerland 90th 2000 to 32nd 2025
1st10th100th1000th19962025
Munich 38th 2013 to 35th 2025
1st10th100th1000th19962025
Italy 24th 1999 to 51st 2024
1st10th100th1000th19962025

Ten years of ranks

Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.

Region2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
England and Wales69716669707575789188
Scotland926878100109114124123120129
Northern Ireland8272758984131931599794
Ireland55556163697554737374
Ontario586163696182755461
British Columbia7812191968080116156
South Australia105395
New Zealand78
Quebec8489909311910715512012879
France90878271847764635960
The Netherlands474053485257566961
Austria39433943435645565553
Switzerland45443741384846393332
Berlin418182925232723
Munich18362921343424282535
Cologne3334356333574
Bonn3382039244234534220
Leipzig17853141431826644341
Rostock758277890601221056823
Norway29183441475559596061
Sweden54485752657882999298
Iceland3630
Spain333444544
Catalonia544610813111010
Italy343535354041434751
Poland12988101111101011
Slovenia209232
Estonia22489148127
Moscow1211122333
Israel1039689828796739681
Argentina91214141413151720

England and Wales, 1996 to 2025

YearRankGirlsper 100,000 girls
202588522206.1
202491506196.1
202378601234.3
202275646245.2
202175682248.9
202070744277.2
201969785280.3
201866799277.2
201771827276.5
201669853277.7
201573768249.4
201473707230.5
201383657213.0
201294609189.1
201193628195.4
201091644200.6
200993633202.0
200891617195.4
200793579189.1
2006104500167.1
2005115450156.1
2004113473165.5
2003108455163.3
2002110413154.5
2001105467174.3
2000111446163.3
1999106461163.7
1998114438151.5
1997121405138.1
199696511172.6

Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.

France since 1925

Half of the babies named Maria in France since 1925 were born in or after 1967. First recorded in 1925. Her peak year there: 1925, at 623.3 per 100,000 girls.

05001,0001940196019802000202005001,00019602000

Babies named Maria per 100,000 girls born in France, by five-year period. Her 1925 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.

Sources: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (1900-2025), Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.

Sister names for Maria

  1. 1 in 5,964 in Scotland

  2. 1 in 880 in Ireland

  3. 1 in 228 in Northern Ireland

  4. 1 in 271 in Ireland

  5. 1 in 1,243 in Ireland

  6. 1 in 660 in Ireland

  7. 1 in 4,473 in Scotland

  8. 1 in 1,243 in Ireland

  9. 1 in 911 in Northern Ireland

  10. 1 in 228 in Northern Ireland

All sister names for MariaDeal more sisters

Middle names for Maria

  1. 1 in 107 in Northern Ireland

  2. 1 in 86 in Ireland

  3. 1 in 57 in Northern Ireland

  4. 1 in 71 in Scotland

  5. 1 in 132 in Northern Ireland

  6. 1 in 214 in Northern Ireland

  7. 1 in 173 in Northern Ireland

  8. 1 in 95 in Northern Ireland

All middle names for MariaDeal more middle names

Same style as Maria

Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.

  1. 1 in 491 in Ireland

  2. 1 in 754 in Ireland

  3. 1 in 1,243 in Ireland

  4. 1 in 95 in Northern Ireland

  5. 1 in 1,408 in Ireland

  6. 1 in 729 in Northern Ireland

  7. 1 in 5,282 in Ireland

  8. 1 in 251 in Northern Ireland

Deal more in this style

Famous people named Maria

Maria Montessori, Maria Goeppert Mayer, Maria Callas, María Corina Machado, Maria Ressa, Maria Sibylla Merian, Maria Konopnicka and Maria I of Portugal.

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People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.

Questions about Maria

5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.

Show all 5 questionsShow less
How popular is Maria?

Her best rank is No. 4 in Spain in 2024. She is in the published lists of 28 of our 40 regions.

What does Maria mean?

Maria takes her meaning from Miriam: "possibly bitter", per Wiktionary.

How do you pronounce Maria?

muh-REE-uh, with 3 syllables.

Is Maria getting more popular?

Over five years: rising in 3 of 28 regions, falling in 6.

Which sister names go with Maria?

The deck's top five sisters for Maria: Elisabeth, Rachel, Rosa, Sarah and Diana. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.

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