Mariza
Feminine
Mariza writes with a z a sound that Spanish and Portuguese write with an s. Between vowels an s is voiced in both languages, so Marisa and Mariza are the same word said the same way, and the z is simply the more literal of the two spellings.
How old is the name Mariza?
Mariza first appears in US birth records in 1961 — 64 years ago. The typical Mariza alive today was born around 1990, making them about 35 years old. About 1,100 people named Mariza are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Mariza most popular?
Mariza peaked in 1973, reaching #2753 nationally. See the whole 1973 chart.
Where it comes from
From Maria to Mariza
The story of Mariza
The best-known modern bearer sings fado. The Portuguese song form began in the poorer quarters of Lisbon in the nineteenth century, in taverns and brothels and among sailors, was disreputable for decades, was then adopted by the state and cleaned up, and has since been recognized as intangible cultural heritage; a single voice and two guitars, one of them the pear-shaped Portuguese one with twelve strings. The word itself means fate. The music is about saudade, which is the Portuguese word for a particular kind of longing for something absent, and which everybody agrees cannot be translated.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The name is a shortening or elaboration of Maria, whose own meaning has never been settled, so nothing certain can be given. It may also be a build on Maria plus an ending taken from Luisa or Elisa. Both accounts leave the meaning where it started, which is unresolved.
How the name formed
- Maria
- Marisa
- Mariza
Related forms: Mariza · Marisa · Marisa
Pronouncing Mariza
muh-REE-zuh
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. Portuguese reduces the final vowel almost to nothing and Spanish gives it full value; the z and the s are the same sound in this position in both.
Nicknames for Mariza
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
- 1961
- Most girls named
- 200547 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2753reached in 1973
- Change vs 2023
- −14.3%6 in 2024, from 7
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.
Mariza in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Mariza in Portuguese — same name
- Marisa in Spanish — same name
- Marisa in Italian — same name
Marizas among us
people named Mariza are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Mariza sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is at home in Portuguese, Spanish and Italian with almost no change.
- Three short forms in three languages, all of which stand alone.
- The spelling makes the voiced consonant unambiguous, which the s does not.
- Marisa is the commoner spelling in every language and will be written instead.
- It will be heard as Marissa, which is a different and much commoner name.
- There is no settled meaning, since Maria itself has none.
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Mariza
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Marizas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Mariza are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Mariza in 2025?
- Mariza is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Mariza with classmates?
- Mariza will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More M names
The most-given names starting with M, all years combined.
Mary#125 · Margaret#112 · Michelle#465 · Melissa#419 · Maria#87 · Martha#712 · Marie#617 · Mildred#1962
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Mariza? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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