Maria, a variant of Mary, comes from the Greek name Mariam and Hebrew name Miryam, which is believed to mean "sea of bitterness" or "wished for child." In the Bible, Mary was the mother of Jesus Christ. She was a young Jewish woman from Nazareth who was chosen by God to conceive Jesus through the Holy Spirit. The name has appeared in the Social Security Administration's top-160 for girl names every year since 1900 and was a top-60 girl's name between 1989 and 2007 before briefly falling out of the top-100 from 2012 to 2021. It returned to the list in 2022 and 2023, and appears to be making a minor comeback.
