Maris
Feminine · “of the sea”
Maris is given to both — 2,671 girls and 232 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Maris is Latin and it means of the sea — it is the second word of stella maris, star of the sea, one of the oldest titles given to the Virgin Mary. It is also, quite separately, a Latvian men's name.
How old is the name Maris?
Maris first appears in US birth records in 1912 — 113 years ago. The typical Maris alive today was born around 2000, making them about 25 years old. About 2,400 people named Maris are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Maris most popular?
Maris peaked in 1939, reaching #1160 nationally. Today it ranks #3249, 2,089 places below that high. See the whole 1939 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From mare to Maris
The story of Maris
Stella maris was applied to the Virgin from at least the ninth century, and the phrase is one of the most repeated in Latin devotion. English-speaking families took Maris as a name from it in the twentieth century, and it appears in American records from the 1930s onward. The Latvian Māris is unconnected and is one of the most-used men's names in that country, which occasionally causes a surprise.
Meaningscholars disagree
of the sea
The Latin reading takes the name from the genitive of mare, the sea, as in the title stella maris. Separately, Latvian Māris is a men's name of its own, and English Maris also occurs as a shortening of Marissa or Damaris, which have different origins again.
How the name formed
- mare
- stella maris
- Maris
Related forms: Maris · Māris · Marisa
Pronouncing Maris
MAIR-iss
Two syllables, first stressed. Latin gives MAH-ris, and some American families use that.
Nicknames for Maris
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1912
- Most girls named
- 201762 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1160reached in 1939
- Change vs 2023
- +6.7%48 in 2025, from 45
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Maris in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Maris in Latin — same name
- Māris in Latvian — related form
- Marisa in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Ohio.
Mariss among us
people named Maris are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 33,485 born in 2025 was named Maris
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Stefania test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Maris's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Stefania climbed just as high around 1917, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Stefania's path sketches the road Maris is walking now.
Maris sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Maris is headed
Maris should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Maris beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Maris in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Latin meaning tied to one of the oldest devotional phrases in Europe.
- Five letters and two syllables, easy to write and to say.
- Mari is a short form that works in several languages.
- In Latvia it is firmly a men's name, which is worth knowing.
- Marissa and Maris are close enough to be confused in speech.
- The first vowel is said two ways in American English.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Maris to the vote.
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What they receive
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Maris
Feminine · #3249 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Mariss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,400 people named Maris are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Maris in 2025?
- Maris ranks #3249 among US girl names in 2025, with 48 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Maris?
- About 1 in every 33,485 US girls born in 2025 was named Maris — 48 in all.
- Will my child share the name Maris with classmates?
- Maris will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Maris
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Aisley#3249 · Quinley#3249 · Rosetta#3249 · Avalee#3249 · Unknown#3249 · Livi#3249 · Delina#3249 · Aniah#3249
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Maris? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Maris and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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