The baby name Marie hits a sweet spot – traditional, stylish, immediately recognized and yet seldom heard. At least, when it comes to a first names.
Thanks to Shannon for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
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MARY, MARIA, MARIE
The baby name Marie belongs to the Mary family. And it’s a heavy hitter.
With a long history of use, countless international variations, and immediate recognition worldwide, Mary names are everywhere.
The Biblical Miriam or Mariam became Maria in Latin, and Marie evolved from Maria. Mary is the English form.
It brings to mind the Virgin Mary, mother of God. Maria tempts us to break into song, “I just met a girl named Maria …” or “How do you solve a problem like Maria?”
The baby name Marie seems distinctively different, too. It’s French, worn by queens and saints, an animated aristocat and a world-changing scientist.
NOTABLE MARIES
Distinguished Maries are found across the centuries.
For example, in the twelfth century Marie de France wrote poetry in England. Her identity is lost to time, but many of her works endure.
Queens and other royals answer to Marie. Many will immediately think of the ill-fated Marie Antoinette, born Maria Antonia.
Swedish-Italian ballerina Marie Taglioni became a celebrated dancer in the nineteenth century. In fact, she may have been the very first ballerina to dance en pointe.
New Orleans visitors hear about legendary voodoo priestess Marie Laveau.
That’s quite a range of Maries, nearly all French-leaning and every one unforgettable.
WOMAN of SCIENCE
Born Maria Skłodowska in Poland in 1867, the budding scientist began her studies in Warsaw. She left for Paris in her early twenties. Skłodowska earned her advanced degrees, and also married fellow scientist Pierre Curie.
In 1903, she and Pierre shared the Noble Prize in Physics for their work on radioactivity. Later, she earned the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry on her own, for work discovering two new elements.
Marie Curie lends the name some intriguing depth, making it a hero name as much as a classic choice.
MUSICAL MARIES
Irving Berlin’s song “Marie” was among his very first compositions. It became a hit, covered by dozens of artists over the years. Here’s Rudy Vallee’s rendition, circa 1929.
During the 1970s, Marie Osmond – born Olive Marie – co-hosted Donny and Marie. The Osmond siblings hosted an hour-long variety show for four years. Donny also recorded hits with his brothers in The Osmonds; Marie scored her own country music hit, “Paper Roses,” in 1973.
And if you need one more pop culture reference with musical overtones: Marie was sister to Berlioz and Toulouse in 1970 Disney animated classic The Aristocats. While you might not think of the feline-centered film as a musical, it included a number of original songs, including some from the legendary Sherman brothers.
A RARITY?
We’ve all heard the baby name Marie tucked into the middle spot countless times.
And yet, the number suggest that Marie is almost rare as a given name. It’s certainly uncommon.
- Mary ranked #1 from 1880 through 1961, charting in the Top Ten through 1971, before falling to #136 in 2022.
- Maria is actually the most popular today, appearing in the Top 100 every year since the 1940s. As of 2022, the name is back in the US Top 100 at #91.
- As for Marie, it always lagged behind Mary. From 1895 through 1905, the baby name Marie charted in the US Top Ten. But the name left the Top 100 after 1957.
At #599 in 2022, the baby name Marie feels almost rare.
HIDDEN CLASSIC
The baby name Marie substitutes for Charlotte or Elizabeth. It feels every bit as classic as Katherine, almost as brief as Grace or Claire.
And the name’s French lilt lends it some extra appeal, too.
If the baby name Marie is on your family tree – possibly as a neglected middle – this is one to consider. But do think about making the baby name Marie a first. It has all the history and charm, and feels surprisingly refreshing as a given name.
What do you think of the baby name Marie?
MARIE
hidden classic
A traditional choice, Marie is too often stuck in the middle spot, but shines as an elegant, unexpected, yet familiar, first.
Popularity
#599 for girls in the US as of 2022
Trend
holding steady
Origin
debated; possibly from the Egyptian word for love, but might also mean bitter, rebellious, or wished-for child
First published on March 13, 2012, this updated on January 4, 2022 and January 9, 2024.
My cousin named her second daughter Meredith to honor a Mary in the family, and hr his post reminds me how lovely the variants of Mary are, especially Marie. I like it so much better!
I know 3 Maries – 2 born in the 1930s and 1 born in the 1960s. I like it better than Mary. L’s unofficial middle name is Maria, after her great grandmother. A’s unofficial middle name is Lynn, like mine and after my mother.
Great post! I just love love Marie for the reasons you mentioned. She does seem ripe for revival amongst Grace, Charlotte and the like. She’s so familiar because of her frequent use as a middle, but I think her use as a first would be downright unusual these days. My problem is that I can’t decide between just Marie or Rosemarie, or Marie Rose……?
My SIL’s mother is a Marie. She reversed her first and middle for her daughter, so my SIL has the semi-ubiquitous Marie-in-the-middle. Continuing the tradition, sort-of, my SIL have her two names as middles for her daughters, so my older niece’s middle is also Marie. Admittedly, other than my SIL’s mom I have a hard time thinking of a Marie in the first spot. It does give the name a bit of a mumsy vibe for me.
That said, Marie is nice enough. But I prefer plain-ol’ Mary or, even better, Miriam (which has nn potential – a major plus in my book – Mimi or Miri especially is a cute nn to boot).
I would also love to meet a little Marie! I like it best in compound names like Annemarie, Rosemarie, etc.
Why do people think Marie is “short”? It’s 2 syllables, like a million other names. There are lots of popular 2 syllable names right now – think Ivy, Juno, ect….Marie has more letters or more syllables than a lot of names….Claire, Zoe, Grace, Emma, ect…
Maybe it’s because they’re used to seeing it in the middle place.
I think it might be because that first syllable has something of a schwa sound.
I like Marie, but I like it even better as a double name – Marie Charlotte, Marie Caroline, Marie Gabrielle, etc. As a first name it feels a wee bit short, but then again, I like longer names like Beatrice and Vivienne.
I’ve thought of using Marie in the middle to honour my grandmother Mary..maybe as a second middle name…
We considered Marie for our new daughter, since it was my husband’s grandmother’s name, but went with Annemarie instead. I love Marie for all of the reasons you listed. We have a son named Paul, and it seemed to compliment the old fashioned simplicity of that name. It is ready for a comeback among name nerds, I can feel it, especially for those who find Agnes, Agatha, Matilda and the like to be too quirky for their families to pull off. Not everyone can be quirky, or the quirkiness is diluted.
Having grown up with numerous girls wearing Marie in the middle spot I’m bored to tears of seeing Marie stringing together first and last names. I would, however, be flabbergasted to meet someone who actually goes by Marie on a daily basis. It would be a delightful surprise, but one that I don’t see myself bestowing upon anyone should we have another girl. Marie is just a wee bit too short for my personal taste.
I was going to write something negative regarding the association between naming my child Marie and the character from the Aristocats when I realised that Marie’s my favourite of the bunch. It`s actually quite a positive association despite, or perhaps because of, the bossiness.
Do you know anything about the current status of Marie in France?
Don’t forget that Marie was also the middle, and sometimes hyphenated, name of Victor Hugo!
Similar to the US, actually – fallen far from peak use in 1901: https://www.meilleursprenoms.com/stats/histogram.php3?recherche=marie&image.x=0&image.y=0 What I don’t know is how the name would be perceived. Is Marie as out-there as Bertha, Beulah, or Gertrude? Or is it similar to the US, where no one can quite explain why we stopped using Marie …