# Are Jewish women ever named Mary? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 1, 2004, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-jewish-women-ever-named-mary/267033 "2004-10-01T15:27:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rsenyc68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/82dd89/32.png) [@rsenyc68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsenyc68)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-jewish-women-ever-named-mary/267033/1 "2004-10-01T15:27:37Z")
I would think that very few Jewish women are named Mary – am I correct in this? Anyone ever met one? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-jewish-women-ever-named-mary/267033/2 "2004-10-01T15:33:03Z")
I have a Jewish cousin named Mary. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-jewish-women-ever-named-mary/267033/3 "2004-10-01T15:34:19Z")
I know quite a lot of Miriams, which is basically the same name. Not that many Marys or Marias, though. ---
**Author:** ![rsenyc68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/82dd89/32.png) [@rsenyc68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsenyc68)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-jewish-women-ever-named-mary/267033/4 "2004-10-01T15:39:09Z")
Yeah, I probably should’ve done more research before posting this question. Googling “Mary \” yielded a lot of hits. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-jewish-women-ever-named-mary/267033/5 "2004-10-01T15:47:24Z")
One of them was. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-jewish-women-ever-named-mary/267033/6 "2004-10-01T16:10:29Z")
> [@rsenyc68](#): > > Yeah, I probably should’ve done more research before posting this question. Googling “Mary \” yielded a lot of hits. That might not necessarily mean that they’re Jewish-some people have Jewish sounding names and aren’t Jewish-and vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-jewish-women-ever-named-mary/267033/7 "2004-10-01T16:19:08Z")
Google gives me hits for Mary Goldstein, Mary Goldblatt, Mary Goldberg, Mary Goldblum, Mary Silverstein, Mary Silverberg, Mary Weinberg, and Mary Cohen. Whether they were born Jewish, or were _shiskas_ who married Jewish men and took the name, I don’t know. Mary Beth [Jewish name] may be more of a challenge. Every Mary Beth I ever knew was Catholic. No Mary Weinblatts, though. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-jewish-women-ever-named-mary/267033/8 "2004-10-01T16:22:17Z")
I know a Jewish Anne Marie ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-jewish-women-ever-named-mary/267033/9 "2004-10-01T16:48:11Z")
My uncle’s ex-wife was named Marie Rose, and her father was Jewish. Her mother wasn’t though, and I don’t think she was raised practicing the faith. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-jewish-women-ever-named-mary/267033/10 "2004-10-01T17:03:10Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#): > > One of them was. 😉 Two of them were, no? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-jewish-women-ever-named-mary/267033/11 "2004-10-01T17:21:51Z")
Three, even: the Virgin Mary; Mary, the sister of Lazarus; Mary Magdalene. I always thought Mary was the Anglicized version of Maria, which was the Romanized version of Miriam, the Jewish name. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![gfloyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d2c977/32.png) [@gfloyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gfloyd)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-jewish-women-ever-named-mary/267033/12 "2004-10-01T18:25:33Z")
A Jewish woman could easily be named Mary. All that it would take would be someone named Mary being very important in said girl’s parents’ lives. My Jewish best friend’s name is Lauren Michele, not exactly as Jewish as say, my family who are Susan, David, Jonathan and Sarah, where as I am the only one (the child of Susan and David) that wants to practice any religion at all. Well, Jon says he’s a stoic, but well, I think that was a joke. Names don’t mean what they used to. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-jewish-women-ever-named-mary/267033/13 "2004-10-01T18:34:49Z")
I have a Jewish great-aunt named Mary. At least I think her name is Mary, but then when I ordered my grandmother’s birth certificate, her actual names turned out to be different (and much more “ethnic”) than the one we’ve known her to use all these years. Long story. I also have a Jewish cousin-in-law named Christina, but then she converted to Judaism when she married my cousin. We all call her Stina now, but I think that was the nickname she’d used since she was a kid anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Splanky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@Splanky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Splanky)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-jewish-women-ever-named-mary/267033/14 "2004-10-01T18:44:59Z")
I know a Jewish girl named Mary. I’ve never had the guts to ask why her parents named her that. I suppose there’s some reason. Or the parents just weren’t very name-conscious. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-jewish-women-ever-named-mary/267033/15 "2004-10-01T19:19:06Z")
May I ask why you would expect Jewish women and girls to NOT be named Mary? After all, the root Mary that all the Christian girls are supposedly named after was Jewish. Named “Miriam”, actually, which is as much Mary as Guillaume is William or Giuseppe is Joseph or Ro-berrr is Bob. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-jewish-women-ever-named-mary/267033/16 "2004-10-01T19:25:15Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > May I ask why you would expect Jewish women and girls to NOT be named Mary? After all, the root Mary that all the Christian girls are supposedly named after was Jewish. Named “Miriam”, actually, which is as much Mary as Guillaume is William or Giuseppe is Joseph or Ro-berrr is Bob. Maybe because it’s such a Catholic name? In my family, you can’t swing a dead cat on either side without hitting someone with the name of Mary-it’s my middle name, my mother’s first name (although she goes by her middle name), my sister’s middle name is Marie, I have a cousin Maria. My dad has four sisters. Three of them have the middle name of Mary-and the other one has Mary as her FIRST name, (we call her Mary Carole), my grandmother’s name is Mary Therese, etc. On the other side, you’ll find a ton of “Marys” as well. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-jewish-women-ever-named-mary/267033/17 "2004-10-01T19:34:35Z")
I bet there aren’t a lot of Mexican Jews named Jesus, though. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-jewish-women-ever-named-mary/267033/18 "2004-10-01T21:01:56Z")
Or Jewish girls named “Madonna”. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![rsenyc68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/82dd89/32.png) [@rsenyc68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsenyc68)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-jewish-women-ever-named-mary/267033/19 "2004-10-01T21:39:34Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > May I ask why you would expect Jewish women and girls to NOT be named Mary? After all, the root Mary that all the Christian girls are supposedly named after was Jewish. Named “Miriam”, actually, which is as much Mary as Guillaume is William or Giuseppe is Joseph or Ro-berrr is Bob. Simply that (a) I have never met any Jewish women named Mary, and (b) Jesus’s mother doesn’t have the same religious significance in Judaism that she does in Christianity. Good point about “Miriam”; I have known several Jewish women of that name. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-jewish-women-ever-named-mary/267033/20 "2004-10-01T21:47:15Z")
> [@rsenyc68](#): > > Simply that (a) I have never met any Jewish women named Mary, and (b) Jesus’s mother doesn’t have the same religious significance in Judaism that she does in Christianity. > > Good point about “Miriam”; I have known several Jewish women of that name. The point I was trying to make, though, was that the woman who started it all, Mary, mother of Jesus, _was_ a Jewish woman named “Mary”. So why would it be a surprise for Jewish women to be named Mary? I don’t think I’ve ever actually met any Jewish women named Mary, either, but for some reason it never occurred to me that it was something that Jews rarely name their daughters. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-jewish-women-ever-named-mary/267033.md?page=2)