ESC Name Rank Total Searching... No names found Try searching for: Emma, Liam, Olivia, Noah... 1880 First Year 2026 Last Year 1964 Peak Year #30 Peak Rank 570K Total Count 147 Years Active 🌍 ## Meaning & Origin of Maria What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures. Maria is a feminine given name. It is given in many languages influenced by Christianity. Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria%5F%28given%5Fname%29) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria%5F%28given%5Fname%29) [![Wikipedia thumbnail for Maria](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/Maria_Callas_1958.jpg/330px-Maria_Callas_1958.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria%5F%28given%5Fname%29) 📖 ## The Story of Maria Maria first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1880, with 125 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1964, when 10,147 Marias were born — ranking #41 that year. As of 2026, Maria ranks #70 for baby girls with 3,223 births, rising sharply (+16% over the past five years). In total, more than 570K Marias have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s. ## Popularity Over Time ## Popularity by State ME WA MT ND MN WI MI NY VT NH MA OR ID SD IA IL IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA NV WY NE MO KY WV VA MD DE DC UT CO KS AR TN NC SC AK AZ NM OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL Top 10 11-50 51-100 101-500 500+ No data ⭐ ## Notable people named Maria A small selection from Wikipedia. Tap "Read more" below to see the full list on Wikipedia. * ●Maria I of Portugal (1734–1816), Queen of Portugal * ●Maria II of Portugal (1818–1853), Queen of Portugal * ●María de la Cerda (1319–1375), countess of Étampes * ●Maria Brignole Sale De Ferrari (1811–1888), Italian duchess * ●Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo (1847–1876), queen consort of Spain (1870–1873) * ●María de la Consolación Azlor (1775–1814), the countess of Bureta * ●Maria Margarida de Lorena, 2nd Duchess of Abrantes (1713–1780) * ●Maria de' Medici (1575–1642), Queen of France Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria%5F%28given%5Fname%29) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria%5F%28given%5Fname%29) 🎶 ## Names that sound like Maria Phonetically similar names — useful when Maria is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * [Meria](/meria) * [Mria](/mria) * [Mariah](/mariah) * [Moriah](/moriah) * Murcia * [Mia](/mia) * [Marie](/marie) * [Marine](/marine) * [Marina](/marina) * [Mery](/mery) * [Maree](/maree) * [Merida](/merida) Source: [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated. ❓ ## Frequently Asked Questions about Maria What does the name Maria mean? Maria is a feminine given name. It is given in many languages influenced by Christianity. How popular is Maria in 2026? In 2026, Maria ranks #70 among girls' names in the U.S., with 3,223 babies given the name that year. When was Maria most popular? Maria reached its peak popularity in 1964, ranking #30 that year with 10,147 babies given the name. In which U.S. states is Maria most popular? Maria has historically been most popular in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Maria. Is Maria a unisex name? In U.S. Social Security records, Maria is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name. What names go well with Maria? Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Maria include Ivy, Savannah, Allison. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data. ## Similar Names [👧IvyPeak #30](/ivy)[👧SavannahPeak #30](/savannah)[👧AllisonPeak #30](/allison)[👧KaitlynPeak #30](/kaitlyn)[👧EvaPeak #31](/eva)[👧ElsiePeak #31](/elsie)[👧PeggyPeak #31](/peggy)[👧IslaPeak #31](/isla) ## About the name Maria Maria is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 570K births in the dataset. Maria's peak popularity came in 1964 when it ranked #30\. Use the chart and map above to compare Maria's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices. ### Continue exploring * [ Top names of 1964 → ](/year/1964) * [ Names of the 1960s → ](/decade/1960s) * [ Names starting with "M" → ](/letter/m) * [ Browse all girl names → ](/names/girls) * [ Top names of 2026 → ](/year/2026) Data sources * Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. [Social Security Administration ](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). 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 ](https://www.behindthename.com/) (used under their public API terms). * Meaning prose and editorial summary — [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/) article extracts, licensed under [CC BY-SA 3.0 ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). * Predicted nationality distribution — [Nationalize.io ](https://nationalize.io/). * Phonetically similar names — [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). 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.