Find out how popular the last name Maria is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Maria.

Maria, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Maria surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Maria in America

Maria is the 7395th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Maria surname appeared 4,500 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Maria.

We can also compare 2010 data for Maria to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Maria

The surname Maria is of Latin origin and can be traced back to ancient Rome. It is derived from the Latin word "mare," meaning "sea." The name likely originated as a nickname or descriptive name for someone who lived near the sea or worked as a sailor or fisherman.

In ancient Roman records, the name Maria appeared as a cognomen or third name, often given to individuals with a connection to the sea or maritime activities. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the writings of the Roman historian Suetonius, who mentions a nobleman named Gaius Julius Maria who lived during the 1st century AD.

During the Middle Ages, the name Maria gained popularity in regions along the Mediterranean coast, particularly in Italy and Spain. It was often used as a surname for families residing in coastal towns or villages. In the 13th century, records from the Republic of Venice mention a prominent merchant family with the surname Maria.

As the name spread throughout Europe, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Marias, Mariah, and Marya. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in England can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which lists a landowner named Richard Maria in the county of Norfolk.

Notable individuals with the surname Maria throughout history include:

1. Giovanni Maria (c. 1490-1547), an Italian Renaissance architect and engineer known for his work on the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome.
2. Francisco de Maria (c. 1625-1688), a Spanish Baroque painter and etcher from Valencia.
3. Antonio Maria Valsalva (1666-1723), an Italian anatomist and physician best known for the Valsalva maneuver used in medical examinations.
4. Johann Matthias Maria von Rottmann (1654-1730), a German Catholic theologian and philosopher.
5. Maria Gaetana Agnesi (1718-1799), an Italian mathematician, philosopher, and theologian, considered one of the pioneers of the study of differential and integral calculus.

While the surname Maria has been widely dispersed across various regions, its origins can be traced back to ancient Rome and the Latin word "mare," reflecting a connection to the sea or maritime pursuits.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Maria

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Maria.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Maria was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Maria has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Maria was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Maria, please contact us.

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