Marie

Marie arrived in English as a French import, but its roots are Hebrew. Behind the Name describes it as the French and Czech form of Maria, the Latin rendering of a Greek name taken from Miryam. In the Old Testament, Miryam is the sister of Moses. The French Wiktionary adds an Aramaic step, Maryam, between the Hebrew and the Greek, and dates the French form back to the tenth century.

The meaning of Miryam is still debated. The suggestions collected by Behind the Name include 'sea of bitterness', 'rebelliousness' and 'wished for child', none of which can be confirmed. A separate theory points to Egyptian, linking the name to mry, beloved, or mr, love. Since the sources do not settle on one reading, the honest answer is that Marie's literal meaning is unknown, while its spread across Europe clearly follows the veneration of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

In English, Marie is usually said muh-REE, close to the French. It sits beside Mary, the long-established English form, and also turns up as a middle name, as in Anne Marie or Rose Marie. Behind the Name lists it in use across Germany, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic as well, and notes that in France it can even appear in boys' names such as Jean-Marie.

Its English pet forms overlap with Mary's: May, Mae and Mamie all grew from the same root. As a first name, Marie suits a longer middle name, such as Marie Josephine or Marie Elizabeth; as a middle name it softens almost anything, from Ella Marie to Isla Marie. Brothers and sisters named Henry, Alice, Thomas or Rose keep the same classic tone.