Mária
A Hebrew name at root, a variant of Maria, with old readings that run from "bitter" to joy-bearing. Only around 165 women in Poland carry it, so meeting one stays memorable, and the register barely lists it among newborns now.
Mária Pronunciation
Mária is pronounced MÁRYAH (/márja/).
What Mária means
Where Mária comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Mária comes from Hebrew, from Miriam, the name of Moses's sister in the Book of Exodus. Scholars have long read its oldest sense as "bitter," though the name also gathered the meaning "beloved" over centuries of use. In Poland the everyday feeling of the name shifted again, toward niosąca radość, one who brings joy.
The name rarely travels alone. It softens into Marysia for a small child and into Mania among friends, while Maria stands as its plainer variant. Call a girl Marysia on a class register and half the room may look up.
The bitterness at the root did not survive the name's Christian life. Mary became the most honored figure in Polish devotion, and Maria followed her into churches, calendars, and countless baptisms. Its name-day falls on many dates across the year, so a woman named Maria can almost always find an imieniny to claim.
Bitter at the beginning, beloved after, and joyful in Polish mouths: the name Mária holds all three.
How many people are named Mária
1 in 136629 women in Poland is named Mária. 165 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #2514 among female names.
Mária as a middle name
Mária is a first name for 165 women in Poland and a middle name for another 47, a 78/22 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 1007th, between Lizeth (47) and Mónica (47).
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#1005 Lilli47
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#1006 Lizeth47
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#1007 Mária47
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#1008 Mónica47
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#1009 Nancy47