Mari
Mari is a feminine given name in the Breton, Japanese, Syriac-Aramaic language, Armenian, Estonian, Georgian, Hungarian, Finnish, Welsh, Swedish and Norwegian languages. It is also a devotional given name in Tamil. It can be seen as a cognate of Mary in Danish, Finnish, Norwegian or Swedish.
- Estonian
- Finnish
- Welsh
- Breton
Meaning & Origin of Mari
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Mari is a feminine given name in the Breton, Japanese, Syriac-Aramaic language, Armenian, Estonian, Georgian, Hungarian, Finnish, Welsh, Swedish and Norwegian languages. It is also a devotional given name in Tamil. It can be seen as a cognate of Mary in Danish, Finnish, Norwegian or Swedish.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- Estonian
- Finnish
- Welsh
- Breton
- Hungarian
- Swedish
- Norwegian
- Danish
- Georgian
- Armenian
- Japanese
- Basque Mythology
The Story of Mari
The earliest SSA record of Mari as a baby girl name dates back to 1897, when 5 babies received it. 1957 was its biggest year on record, with 412 newborns named Mari — #466 in the national rankings. As of 2026, Mari ranks #1,373 for baby girls with 164 births, rising sharply (+33% over the past five years). All told, over 17K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1890s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Mari
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Mari. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Notable people named Mari
A small selection from Wikipedia. Tap "Read more" below to see the full list on Wikipedia.
- Saint Mari , a 1st-century saint of the Church of the East and several other denominations
- Mari of Seleucia-Ctesiphon , Patriarch of the Church of the East (987–999)
- Mari ibn Suleiman (12th century), historian
- Mari Abel (born 1975), Estonian actress
- Mari Akasaka (真理, born 1964), Japanese novelist
- Mari Alkatiri (born 1949), Prime Minister of East Timor from 2002 to 2006
- Mari Amachi (真理, born 1951), Japanese singer and actress
- Mari Blanchard (1923–1970), American actress
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Names that sound like Mari
Phonetically similar names — useful when Mari is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Mari
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In which U.S. states is Mari most popular?
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About the name Mari
Mari is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1897 and has accumulated 17K births in the dataset. Mari's peak popularity came in 1957 when it ranked #464. Use the chart and map above to compare Mari's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1957 →
- Names of the 1950s →
- Names starting with "M" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.