Maria - Name Meaning and Origin

The boy's and girl's name Maria \m(a)-ria\ is pronounced mah-REE-ah. It is of Latin origin. Variant for Mary (Latin) "star of the sea", used in English-speaking countries in the 18th century, and popular with both Spanish and non-Spanish cultures. Revived in the 20th century due to the popularity of "West Side Story", with its famous ballad "Maria". Marie, the French variant, was the preferred form of Mary in England until about the time of the Reformation. Mariah (ma-RYE-ah) has greatly increased in popularity, due to singer Mariah Carey. Maria and Marie are very often blended with other names and suffixes. See also Manon, Mari, Maribel, Marisa, Mia, and Ria. Singer Maria Muldaur; TV journalist Maria Shriver.

Maria has 17 variant forms: Maree, Mariah, Marialena, Marialinda, Marialisa, Marie, Marieanne, Marielena, Marietta, Mariette, Marika, Marja, Marya, Mayra, Mayria, Moraiah and Moriah.

For more information, see also related names Mai, Malia, Marlene, Melita, Mercedes and Mimi.

Baby names that sound like Maria are Marra, Mara and Moria.

Maria is a very popular female first name and a very popular surname (source: 1990 U.S. Census). Displayed below is the baby name popularity trend for the girl's name Maria. Click here to compare Maria with related baby names.