Mary

Hebrew or Egyptian
"drop of the sea; bitter; beloved; love"

Mary Origin and Meaning

The name Mary is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "drop of the sea; bitter; beloved; love".

Mary is the English form of Maria, which ultimately was derived from the Hebrew name Maryam/Mariam. The original meaning of Maryam is uncertain, but theories include "drop of the sea" (from Hebrew roots mar "drop" and yam "sea"); "bitter" (from Hebrew marah "bitterness"); and "beloved" (from the Egyptian root mr).

Mary, the quintessential New Testament name, was #1 for girls until the mid-twentieth century. Though still popular, Mary is used now mostly for religious or family reasons. If it's style you're after, Mary's many diminutives and derivatives such as Maire, Mamie, May, Mitzi, Molly, Maura, Marietta, and even Maria may seem more fashionable.

Mary was the most popular and enduring female Christian name in the English-speaking world (as were Maria and Marie in Spanish and French) until the 1940s. That was when in the US Mary was finally dethroned by such trendy upstarts as Linda and Karen.

There are six Marys in the Bible, including the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and Mary the mother of Mark, and there have been British royal Marys beginning in the sixteenth century. In earlier times Mary was considered too sacred to be used; it finally gained usage in England in the twelfth century, and by the sixteenth had blanketed the female population, to the point where dozens of pet forms had to be contrived to distinguish one Mary in the family from the others.

The poet Byron deemed Mary a "magic" name, and Bing Crosby proclaimed it "a grand old name." Mary has always been a good-girl name, as reflected by such mid-century icons of propriety and wholesomeness as Mary Poppins and Mary Tyler Moore. The lovely Lady Mary Crawley of Downton Abbey has restored some freshness to the name.

Among the celebs who dropped their birth name of Mary are Meryl Streep, Debbie Reynolds, and Lily Tomlin.

For more detail on the origins and possible meanings of the name Mary, see this excellent post on the subject.

# 135 in the US

Mary Rank in US Top 1000

# 227 on Nameberry

Mary Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Mary Popularity

Famous People Named Mary

  • Blessed Virgin Mary
    mother of Jesus Christ
  • Mary Magdalene
    follower of Jesus Christ
  • Mary of Bethany
    follower of Jesus Christ
  • Mary I
    Queen of England, aka Bloody Mary
  • Mary II
    Queen of England and Scotland, wife of William III
  • Mary Stuart
    Queen of Scots
  • Mary
    Queen of Hungary
  • Mary of Guelders
    Queen consort of James II of Scotland
  • Mary of Guise
    Queen consort of James V of Scotland; mother of Mary, Queen of Scots
  • Mary of Modena (born Maria Beatrice Anna Margherita Isabella d'Este)
    Queen consort of James II and VII of England
  • Mary of Teck (born Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes)
    Queen consort of George V of the U.K.
  • Mary Tudor
    Queen consort of Louis XII of France
  • Mary of Austria
    Queen consort of Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia; Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands
  • Mary Elizabeth Donaldson
    Crown Princess of Denmark
  • Mary Todd Lincoln
    U.S. First Lady as wife of President Abraham Lincoln
  • Mary Pickford (born Gladys Louise Smith)
    Canadian,American actress
  • Mary Sean Young
    American actress
  • Mary Tyler Moore
    American actress
  • Mary Noel Streatfeild
    English novelist
  • Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep
    American actress
  • Mary Willa 'Mamie' Gummer
    American actress, daughter of actress Meryl Streep
  • Mary Anna McCartney
    daughter of musician Paul McCartney and Linda Eastman McCartney
  • Mary Elizabeth Winstead
    American actress
  • Mary Jane Blige
    American R&B singer
  • Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
    English novelist
  • Mary Stuart Masterson
    American actress
  • Mary
    Louise Parker, American actress
  • Mary Frances Crosby
    American actress
  • Mary Hart (born Mary Johanna Harum)
    American TV news personality
  • Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
    American actress
  • Mary
    Kate Olsen, American actress and fashion designer; twin of Ashley Olsen
  • Mary Katherine Campbell
    Miss America 1922 and 1923
  • Mary Elise Hayden
    American actress
  • Mary Pope Osborne
    American children's author
  • Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin
    American actress and comedienne
  • Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds
    American actress
  • Mary Margaret "Marg" Helgenberger
    American actress
  • Mary Ford (born Iris Colleen Summers)
    American singer, wife of guitarist Les Paul
  • Mary Ellen Mark
    American photographer
  • Mary Byrne
    Irish singer,songwriter
  • Mary Boleyn
    sister of English Queen consort Anne Boleyn
  • Mary Jo Eustace
    Canadian actress, singer and chef
  • Mary Jo Salter
    American poet
  • Mary
    Charles Jones, American child actress
  • Mary Wollstonecraft
    English author and feminist
  • Mary Chapin Carpenter
    American country music singer
  • Mary Eileen McDonnell
    American actress
  • Mary Stuart
    Princess of England, Scotland and Ireland, daughter of James VI and I
  • Mary Henrietta of England
    Princess Royal, Princess of Orange and Countess of Nassau; daughter of Charles I
  • Mary
    Princess of Great Britain, daughter of George II
  • Mary
    Princess of the U.K.; Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh, daughter of George III
  • (Victoria Alexandra Alice) Mary
    Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood, daughter of George V of the U.K.
  • Mary Adelaide Wilhelmina Elizabeth of Cambridge
    Duchess of Teck; mother of Mary of Teck
  • Mary Allin Travers
    American singer of group Peter, Paul & Mary
  • Mary Blair (born Mary Browne Robinson)
    American Disney artist
  • Mary Black
    Irish singer
  • Mary Read
    English pirate
  • Mary Jackson
    NASA's first African,american female engineer
  • Mary O'Hara Alsop
    American novelist and screenwriter
  • Mary Gilmore
    Australian poet and journalist
  • Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne Boggs aka Cokie Roberts
    American TV journalist and author
  • Mary Kay Place
    American actress
  • Mary Kay Bergman
    American voice actress
  • Mary Tamm
    English actress
  • Mary Jo Kopechne
    American political campaign specialist
  • Mary Oliver
    American poet
  • Mary Hunter Austin
    American nature writer
  • Mary (Theresa Eleanor) Higgins Clark
    American novelist
  • Mary Westmacott
    alias of novelist Agatha Christie
  • Mary Anning
    English paleontologist
  • Mary Amelia Ingalls
    sister of novelist Laura Ingalls Wilder
  • Mary Kubica
    American novelist
  • Mary Abigail "Abby" Wambach
    American soccer player
  • Mary
    Cooke Branch Munford, American activist and suffragette
  • Mary Clementine Ronstadt (b. 1990)
    daughter of singer Linda Ronstadt
  • Mary Bush (b. 2000)
    daughter of TV personality Billy Bush
  • Mary James Marsden (b. 2005)
    daughter of actor James Marsden
  • Mary James Rust (b. 2017)
    daughter of Paul Rust and Lesley Arfin
  • Mary Iglesias (b. 2020)
    daughter of Anna Kournikova and Enrique Iglesias
  • Mary Shelley
    English novelist, author of Frankenstein
  • Mary Bell (b.1957)
    English child murderer aged 10,11 in 1968

Mary in Pop Culture

  • Mary Lennox
    main character in F.H. Burnett's "The Secret Garden"
  • Mary Grayson
    character in DC Universe
  • Mary Wardwell
    character in "Sabrina" universe
  • "Mary Poppins
    " series by P.L. Travers, movie, and its main character
  • Mary Bennet
    character in Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice"
  • Mary Malone
    character in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series
  • Mary Morstan Watson
    character in the Sherlock Holmes series
  • Mary Jensen
    main character in film "There's Something About Mary"
  • Mary Russell Holmes
    character in Laurie R. King's Russell and Holmes series
  • Mary Iris "Mim" Malone
    character in "Mosquitoland"
  • Mary Sandra Winchester
    character on TV's "Supernatural"
  • Mary Lisbon
    character in "The Virgin Suicides"
  • Mary Shepherd
    Sunderland, character in video game Silent Hill 2
  • Mary Terrafino
    character in Michael Grant's Gone series
  • Mary Katherine (M.K.)
    main character in movie "Epic"
  • Mary Bennington
    character in movie "Three Men and a Little Lady"
  • Mary Josephine Crawley
    character on TV's "Downton Abbey"
  • Mary Anne Spier
    character in The Babysitters Club series
  • Mary Mahoney
    character in Christopher Durang's "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All For You"
  • Mary
    character in G. A. Henty's, For the Temple
  • Mary Jane Watson
    character in the Spider,Man series
  • Mary Margaret Blanchard
    character on TV's "Once Upon A Time"
  • Mary Edwards aka Grandmary
    character in the American Girl Samantha series
  • Mary Jean
    character in Lily Tomlin's sketches
  • Mary Camden
    character on TV's "Seventh Heaven"
  • Mary Swanson
    character in movie "Dumb and Dumber"
  • Mary Vega
    character in movie "Crusade in Jeans"
  • Mary Barrows
    villain in video game "Clock Tower"
  • Sister Mary Benedict
    character in movie "The Bells of St. Mary's"
  • Mary O'Connor
    character in G. A. Henty's "With Moore at Corunna and Under Wellington's Command"
  • Mary Rivers
    character in Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre"
  • Sister Mary Eunice McKee
    character from "American Horror Story: Asylum"
  • Mary Chance
    character in Jenny Nimmo's "The Children of the Red King" series
  • Mary Waters
    character in the "St Clare" book series by Enid Blyton
  • Mary Louise
    character on TV's "The Vampire Diaries"
  • Blue Mary
    character in the video game "King of Fighters"
  • Mary "Marjory" Kerr
    character in G. A. Henty's, In Freedom's Cause
  • Mary Lou Barebone
    character in "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
  • Mary Prentice
    character in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"
  • Mary Griffin
    character in "The 100"
  • Mary Vanderboom
    character in Rusty Lake: Roots
  • Mary Cooper
    character, Sheldon's Mother on the prequel series "Young Sheldon"
  • Mary Albright
    character on TV show "3rd Rock from the Sun"
  • Mary Fiore
    character in 2001 film "The Wedding Planner"
  • Mary
    main character in "The Forest of Hands and Teeth", by Carrie Ryan
  • Mary
    character in "Mary Death" by Matthew Tarpley
  • Mary Adler
    child maths prodigy in film 'Gifted' played by McKenna Grace
  • Mary Shannon
    main character on the TV series " In Plain Sight"
  • Mary (Hatch) Bailey
    character in film "It's a Wonderful Life"
  • Mary Wang
    character in the Netflix series "Trollhunters"
  • Mary Palmer
    character in "The Alienist"
  • Mary Test
    character on animated series Johnny Test
  • Bloody Mary
    cocktail inspired by Mary I of England
  • "Mary Jane Holland
    " Lady Gaga song
  • "Bloody Mary
    " Lady Gaga song
  • The Jesus and Mary Chain
    band
  • "Mary
    " song by The Death Riders
  • "Mary had a Little Lamb
    " nursery rhyme
  • "Mary
    Mary, quite contrary," nursery rhyme
  • "Mary
    Mary," song by the Monkees
  • "Mary's Song
    " song by Taylor Swift
  • "Mary
    " song by Noah and the Whale
  • "Miss Mary Mack
    " song sung in hand clapping rhythm
  • "Suddenly Mary
    " song by the American alternative rock band The Posies
  • "Mary
    " song by Scissor Sisters
  • Mary Janes
    women's shoe
  • Mary Jane
    slang for marijuana
  • Mary Sue
    term for a perfect female character\