Maria

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Maria is a feminine given name. It is given in many languages influenced by Christianity. It was used as the feminine form of the unrelated Roman name Marius (see Maria gens), and, after Christianity had spread across the Roman Empire, it became the Latinised form of the name of Miriam: Mary, mother of Jesus. Maria (Greek: Μαρία) is a form of the name used in the New Testament, standing alongside Mariam (Μαριάμ). It reflects the Syro-Aramaic name Maryam, which is in turn derived from the Biblical Hebrew name Miriam. As a result of their similarity and syncretism, the Latin original name Maria and the Hebrew-derived Maria combined to form a single name. In Germanic languages, the name's usage is connected with the Germanic element *mar*, meaning "famous". The name is also sometimes used as a male (middle) name. This was historically the case in many Central Europe countries and still is the case in countries with strong Catholic traditions, where it signified patronage of the Virgin Mary (French-speakers often did the same with Marie). In the Arabic language the name Mariam (مريم) (also written: Meryem, Mariya) means either "white beautiful woman" or "white cow" or "a little bird with the same size as a pigeon", and it is quite popular in North Africa. One of the feminine Sahaba had the name Maria, Maria the Coptic.