Wikipedia

Maria (given name)

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Maria is a female given name in many diverse cultures, including African, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Russian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, German, Polish, English, and Bulgarian.

Maria
Gender: Female
Origin: Hebrew
Meaning: "Beloved/love"

It became popular with the spread of Christianity as a latinized form of the Hebrew name of Jesus' mother Mary (Miriam in Hebrew). The meaning of the name is uncertain, but it may originally be an Egyptian name, probably derived from mry "beloved" or mr "love" [1] ("eminent lady" or "beloved lady"), although it was used in Europe even before the establishment of Christianity as a female form of the Roman name Marius. [2] Historically the name was also sometimes used as a male middle name. This was the case in many Central European countries where it signified patronage of the Virgin Mary.

As a first name, Maria ranked seventh out of 4,275 for females of all ages in the 1990 U.S. Census. [3] Because of its enduring popularity, the name is used extensively in society and media throughout the world.

Famous people named Maria

Religious

Nobility

Educationists

Actors

Singers/bands

Athletes

Music

Models

  • Maria, French supermodel
  • Maria Fowler, British Glamour Model, appearing on Page 3 and all UK Major Publications

Television hosts

As male middle name

As female middle name

Media

Songs

Novels

Television

Culture

Languages

Geography

Food

  • Maria-mole, dessert popular in Brazil that is similar to a marshmallow
  • Maria (cookie), a simple cookie originally from Spain
  • Golden Maria Cocktail- Mango Juice, Lime, Mint leaves and soda with white rum

Astronomy

Other

Trivia

  • In Mexico, it is a tradition to name the firstborn daughter Maria.
  • In Hong Kong, Maria is a nickname with slightly negative meaning of Filipino maid

References

  1. ^ Behind the Name article on Mary
  2. ^ http://hera.ugr.es/tesisugr/15434928.pdf
  3. ^ Think Baby Names
 
Look up Appendix:Names_derived_from_Miryam in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.


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