The story in the numbers

563,139 girls have been named Maria in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 1964, with 10,147 births — 0.54% of all girls recorded that year.

It is holding steady: its share of births has moved by less than half in either direction over ten years (rank 114 → 74).

Half of everyone given the name was born by 1973, and the 1960s alone account for 16%. It has spent 145 of 145 years in the top 1,000, 74 of them in the top 100.

It is overwhelmingly a girl’s name: 4,272 boys have also been given it, 0.75% of the total.

Rank among girls, year by year

By decade

Decade

girls named Maria

1,732

2,866

4,174

11,331

22,584

20,638

35,571

62,452

88,843

76,351

65,776

70,902

57,001

28,965

13,953

In 1964, its biggest year

Maria was the 41st most given girl’s name that year. The top five girls’ names of 1964 were Lisa, Mary, Susan, Karen and Patricia. See all of 1964.

Names that rose and fell with Maria

Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.

Other spellings in the data

What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.