Girl's name
Mary
Say it MAIR-ee
Roots in Aramaic and Hebrew from Miriam, possibly bitter
2 syllables
Where Mary is loved, common and rare
Rare in Ireland, the UK, four German cities and nine more places.
1 in 515 girls born in Ireland in 2025
Ireland 112thNorthern Ireland 161stBritish Columbia 223rd
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 17 of the 40 official lists, among them Ireland (112th), Northern Ireland (161st) and British Columbia (223rd).
Show all 17 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 112th 2025 | 41 | 1 in 515 |
| Northern Ireland | 161st 2025 | 11 | 1 in 662 |
| British Columbia province | 223rd 2023 | 14 | about 1 in 854 |
| Ontario province | 243rd 2024 | 51 | about 1 in 1,068 |
| Scotland | 256th 2025 | 14 | 1 in 1,278 |
| England and Wales | 329th 2025 | 131 | 1 in 1,933 |
| Cologne city | 419th 2023 | 2 | about 1 in 3,072 |
| Norway | 491st 2025 | 4 | 1 in 5,449 |
| Quebec province | 540th 2025 | 8 | about 1 in 3,250 |
| Sweden | 699th 2025 | 7 | about 1 in 5,738 |
| Italy | 736th 2024 | 14 | 1 in 12,798 |
| Berlin city | 937th 2023 | 2 | about 1 in 7,252 |
| France | 1275th 2025 | 25 | 1 in 11,472 |
| Austria | 1305th 2025 | 2 | 1 in 17,861 |
| Switzerland | 1792nd 2025 | 2 | 1 in 16,997 |
| Rostock city | 166th 2025 | 1 | about 1 in 985 |
| Bonn city | 382nd 2025 | 1 | about 1 in 3,015 |
Rare, below the listed names: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Munich, Leipzig, Spain, Catalonia, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) 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.
Sources: Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); NISRA (Northern Ireland); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); Statistics Norway (SSB) (Norway); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock (opendata-hro.de) (Rostock); Bundesstadt Bonn, Standesamt (opendata.bonn.de) (Bonn). How we count, and every source
About the name
The mother of Jesus in the New Testament bore the name that English renders as Mary. It comes through French, Latin and Greek from the Hebrew Miryām, the name also known as Miriam. The meaning of Miryām is uncertain, and it is possibly 'bitter'.
Read the restShow less
Two syllables, said MAIR-ee, with the stress on the first. May and Mae are traditional pet forms. Maria, Marie, Mariah, Miriam and Maryam are doublets, and Marian, Marion and Marianne are related names.
Canadian records show it at its height in the 1920s. Today it is used most in Ireland and Northern Ireland, and also in British Columbia, Norway and Sweden, and it is rising in more regions than it is falling.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- MAIR-ee, 2 syllables
- Meaning
- from Miriam,
possibly bitter
- Origin
- Aramaic and Hebrew
Etymology
From Middle English Marie, from Old French Marie, from Latin Maria, from Ancient Greek Μαρία (María), Μαριάμ (Mariám), from post-Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic מַרְיָם (Maryām), from Biblical Hebrew מִרְיָם (Miryām), of uncertain meaning. Doublet of Miriam, Marie, Maria, and Mariah.
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 4 of 11 regions, falling in 2.
Show the yearsShow less
Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 250 | 320 | 259 | 289 | 291 | 318 | 330 | 301 | 337 | 329 |
| Scotland | 276 | 304 | 275 | 304 | 399 | 245 | 303 | 250 | 315 | 256 |
| Northern Ireland | 112 | 122 | 195 | 167 | 129 | 152 | 201 | 171 | 134 | 161 |
| Ireland | 84 | 91 | 58 | 92 | 82 | 127 | 87 | 130 | 105 | 112 |
| Ontario | 146 | 158 | 158 | 193 | 150 | 222 | 283 | 259 | 243 | |
| British Columbia | 200 | 214 | 224 | 409 | 495 | 202 | 191 | 223 | ||
| South Australia | 838 | 150 | ||||||||
| Quebec | 655 | 720 | 785 | 722 | 540 | |||||
| France | 1065 | 1161 | 1128 | 1005 | 1226 | 1221 | 1224 | 1521 | 913 | 1275 |
| Austria | 758 | 1048 | 1874 | 1291 | 1303 | 1307 | 1838 | 1868 | 1305 | |
| Switzerland | 1279 | 1292 | 832 | 1020 | 1559 | 795 | 751 | 733 | 995 | 1792 |
| Berlin | 458 | 985 | 496 | 978 | 999 | 969 | 937 | |||
| Rostock | 134 | 197 | 166 | |||||||
| Norway | 356 | 326 | 412 | 446 | 491 | |||||
| Sweden | 329 | 395 | 441 | 399 | 440 | 727 | 742 | 610 | 394 | 699 |
| Italy | 725 | 593 | 656 | 736 | ||||||
| Poland | 500 | 437 | 419 | 601 | 766 | 721 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 329 | 131 | 51.7 |
| 2024 | 337 | 128 | 49.6 |
| 2023 | 301 | 145 | 56.5 |
| 2022 | 330 | 130 | 49.3 |
| 2021 | 318 | 148 | 54.0 |
| 2020 | 291 | 160 | 59.6 |
| 2019 | 289 | 170 | 60.7 |
| 2018 | 259 | 189 | 65.6 |
| 2017 | 320 | 150 | 50.2 |
| 2016 | 250 | 204 | 66.4 |
| 2015 | 249 | 198 | 64.3 |
| 2014 | 225 | 229 | 74.7 |
| 2013 | 244 | 203 | 65.8 |
| 2012 | 241 | 209 | 64.9 |
| 2011 | 250 | 200 | 62.2 |
| 2010 | 213 | 237 | 73.8 |
| 2009 | 227 | 213 | 68.0 |
| 2008 | 179 | 292 | 92.5 |
| 2007 | 177 | 300 | 98.0 |
| 2006 | 170 | 313 | 104.6 |
| 2005 | 151 | 339 | 117.6 |
| 2004 | 164 | 325 | 113.7 |
| 2003 | 162 | 298 | 106.9 |
| 2002 | 146 | 310 | 115.9 |
| 2001 | 145 | 315 | 117.5 |
| 2000 | 146 | 313 | 114.6 |
| 1999 | 139 | 337 | 119.6 |
| 1998 | 133 | 350 | 121.0 |
| 1997 | 118 | 424 | 144.6 |
| 1996 | 122 | 380 | 128.4 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
Ontario and British Columbia since 1925
Half of the babies named Mary in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 1949. First recorded in 1925. Her peak year there: 1926, at 7,293.4 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Mary per 100,000 girls born in Ontario and British Columbia, by five-year period. Her 1926 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (1917-2024), OGL-Ontario; BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (1924-2023), OGL-BC.
Sister names for Mary
1 in 1,243 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Mary.
1 in 291 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Mary. Same first letter as Mary.
1 in 2,641 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Mary.
1 in 2,347 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Mary.
1 in 2,556 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Mary.
1 in 604 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Mary. Same first letter as Mary.
1 in 325 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Mary.
1 in 649 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Mary.
1 in 2,261 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Mary.
1 in 5,282 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Mary.
Middle names for Mary
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Mary Grace
2-1 beats · initials MG
Changes the beat after Mary: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Mary Olivia
2-4 beats · initials MO · Mary slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Mary: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables. Mary slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 99 in Scotland
Mary Sophia
2-3 beats · initials MS
Changes the beat after Mary: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Mary Rose
2-1 beats · initials MR
Changes the beat after Mary: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Mary Emily
2-3 beats · initials ME · Mary slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Mary: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables. Mary slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Mary Julia
2-3 beats · initials MJ
Changes the beat after Mary: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 107 in Northern Ireland
Mary Charlotte
2-2 beats · initials MC
A close match on style, era and popularity. Same length as Mary: 2 syllables.
1 in 1,243 in Ireland
Mary Diana
2-3 beats · initials MD
Changes the beat after Mary: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
Same style as Mary
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 604 in Ireland
97% alike: moves with Mary across countries and decades.
1 in 1,056 in Ireland
96% alike: moves with Mary across countries and decades.
1 in 347 in Northern Ireland
95% alike: moves with Mary across countries and decades.
1 in 1,243 in Ireland
94% alike: moves with Mary across countries and decades.
1 in 291 in Northern Ireland
92% alike: moves with Mary across countries and decades.
1 in 1,214 in Northern Ireland
92% alike: moves with Mary across countries and decades.
1 in 754 in Ireland
92% alike: moves with Mary across countries and decades.
1 in 3,578 in Scotland
92% alike: moves with Mary across countries and decades.
Famous people named Mary
Mary Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary, Queen of Scots, Mary I, Mary Pickford, Mary Cassatt, Mary II and Mary Robinson.
Show all 8Show less
-
English writer (1797–1851)
-
English writer and intellectual (1759–1797)
-
Queen of Scotland from 1542 to 1567 (1542–1587)
-
Queen of England and Ireland from 1553 to 1558 (1516-1558)
-
Canadian actress and producer (1892–1979)
-
American painter and printmaker (1844, 1926)
-
Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1689 to 1694 (1662-1694)
-
Former President of Ireland and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights born 1944
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Mary
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 Mary?
Her best rank is No. 112 in Ireland in 2025, about 1 in 515 girls. She is in the published lists of 17 of our 40 regions.
What does Mary mean?
Mary takes her meaning from Miriam: "possibly bitter", per Wiktionary.
How do you pronounce Mary?
MAIR-ee, with 2 syllables.
Is Mary getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 4 of 11 regions, falling in 2.
Which sister names go with Mary?
The deck's top five sisters for Mary: Ruth, Martha, Ann, Gloria and Leona. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.