NamelingSwipe names

Mary

Gender
Girl
Say it
MAIR-ee
Origin
Hebrew
UK rank, 2025
#308 for girls
US rank, 2025
#125 for girls
Style
Timeless

Mary is a girls' name of Hebrew origin. In 2025 it ranked 308th for girls in the UK (156 babies) and 125th for girls in the US (2,230 babies).

What does Mary mean?

Hebrew: from Miryam, via Greek and Latin Maria

Name of the mother of Jesus and of two queens regnant of England; its original meaning is debated.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Mary a girl's or a boy's name?

Mary is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 156 girls in the UK and 2,230 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.

How popular is Mary in the UK?

Rank in 2025
308th among girls
Babies in 2025
156 about 1 in 1,800 girls
Five-year trend
Steady down 19% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 156 girls in the UK were named Mary, making it the 308th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 276th. Its busiest year was 1997, with 499 girls.

Half of all the girls named Mary in the UK since 1996 were born between 2001 and 2014. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.

Among girls in 2025, it was 329th in England and Wales, 256th in Scotland and 161st in Northern Ireland.

In the England and Wales top 100 for girls, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1904 (#1), 1914 (#1), 1924 (#2), 1934 (#3), 1944 (#4), 1954 (#9), 1964 (#37), 1974 (#77) and 1984 (#98).

1996Busiest: 499 in 19972025
Mary in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025156#308
2024154#315
2023171#292
2022150#322
2021179#295
2020184#276
2019194#275
2018213#257
2017181#296
2016241#240
2015229#244
2014256#227
2013231#242
2012235#239
2011231#245
2010280#208
2009239#231
2008330#180
2007333#183
2006356#168
2005390#156
2004374#161
2003349#159
2002355#146
2001373#138
2000357#145
1999395#138
1998410#128
1997499#112
1996414#124

How popular is Mary in the US?

Rank in 2025
125th among girls
Babies in 2025
2,230 about 1 in 720 girls
Five-year trend
Steady down 4% in five years
Same name in a class
1.9% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 2,230 girls in the US were named Mary, making it the 125th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 123rd. Its busiest year was 1921, with 73,984 girls.

2025 had more girls named Mary than any year since 2020.

Half of all the girls named Mary in the US since 1880 were born between 1922 and 1954, the years shaded on the chart below.

1880Busiest: 73,984 in 19212025
Mary in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
20252,230#125
20242,219#131
20232,085#132
20222,119#134
20212,102#132
20202,230#123
20192,241#126
20182,369#126
20172,425#126
20162,526#126
20152,642#123
20142,637#120
20132,669#118
20122,587#121
20112,715#112
20102,882#108
20093,177#102
20083,514#96
20073,697#93
20064,116#80
20054,481#72
20044,838#62
20035,043#59
20025,487#49
20015,762#48
20006,222#46
19996,390#45
19986,478#44
19976,650#46
19966,968#44
19957,458#40
19947,758#37
19938,124#36
19928,463#36
19918,764#38
19908,670#35
19898,645#38
19888,518#34
19878,395#37
19868,507#37
19859,240#35
19849,293#33
19839,897#32
198210,851#30
198111,042#27
198011,474#25
197910,555#24
197810,040#24
197710,656#21
197610,315#22
197510,973#19
197411,738#13
197312,313#14
197213,757#13
197116,703#9
197019,204#9
196919,850#8
196821,727#6
196725,316#4
196628,890#3
196534,270#2
196440,985#2
196341,546#2
196243,502#2
196147,682#1
196051,472#1
195954,502#1
195855,848#1
195761,102#1
195661,741#1
195563,174#1
195468,019#1
195364,389#1
195265,629#2
195165,721#2
195065,481#2
194966,874#2
194868,597#2
194771,690#2
194667,471#1
194559,278#1
194462,476#1
194366,174#1
194263,256#1
194158,048#1
194056,216#1
193954,900#1
193856,225#1
193755,641#1
193654,377#1
193555,076#1
193456,929#1
193355,517#1
193259,883#1
193160,299#1
193064,153#1
192963,512#1
192866,871#1
192770,642#1
192667,832#1
192570,586#1
192473,534#1
192371,634#1
192272,177#1
192173,984#1
192070,983#1
191965,836#1
191867,365#1
191764,280#1
191661,438#1
191558,187#1
191445,346#1
191336,642#1
191232,304#1
191124,390#1
191022,848#1
190919,259#1
190818,665#1
190717,580#1
190616,370#1
190516,067#1
190414,961#1
190314,275#1
190214,486#1
190113,136#1
190016,705#1
189913,172#1
189814,406#1
189713,413#1
189613,811#1
189513,447#1
189413,151#1
189312,784#1
189213,172#1
189111,704#1
189012,078#1
188911,648#1
188811,754#1
18879,888#1
18869,889#1
18859,128#1
18849,217#1
18838,012#1
18828,148#1
18816,919#1
18807,065#1

Nicknames for Mary

Names like Mary

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Elizabeth, Lucy, Nancy, Sarah, Anna, Polly, Annie, Alice, Betty, Josephine, Ruby, Molly

Other spellings of Mary

Marry

Names related to Mary

Mara, Mari, Mariya, Mayra, Marya, Mair, Maraya, Mar, Maryah

More Hebrew names

Noah, Isabella, Elijah, James, Jack, Mia, Ava, Jude, Ezra, Benjamin, Isaac, Jacob, Ethan, Daniel, Samuel, Elias

Every Hebrew name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Mary: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/mary, updated 20 October 2026.