# Do they call the wind Mariah or Maria? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 29, 2008, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-the-wind-mariah-or-maria/435457 "2008-01-29T15:17:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-the-wind-mariah-or-maria/435457/1 "2008-01-29T15:17:40Z")
One of the clues in today’s (1/29) [USA Today Crossword](http://puzzles.usatoday.com/?POE=UCNCW) is “Name for the wind, in song.” I confidently started typing in MARIAH, but ran out of space before I could get in the last “H”. Now, all of my life I’ve known the song from _Paint Your Wagon_ as _They Call the Wind Mariah_. In fact I frequently cite the bit of trivia that Mariah Carey was named after the song. So, I started to write a nice email to Timothy Parker, the puzzle editor, to set him straight on his error. But when I went to [Google](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=they+call+the+wind&btnG=Google+Search) for cites to back me up, about half of them, including [IMDB](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064782/soundtrack), show the name in the song title as Maria :eek: :eek: Now, I could understand this if the sources were from blogs posted by people who can’t spell, but it seems like IMDB and other trusted sources should have the correct info. So, Dopers, when you sing the song is it Mariah or Maria? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![fatgail](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fatgail/32/7285_2.png) [@fatgail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fatgail)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-the-wind-mariah-or-maria/435457/2 "2008-01-29T15:28:11Z")
I think it’s PRONOUNCED Mariah, but spelled Maria for some unknown reason. I mean, I have the song on cd and it’s clearly MARIAH. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-the-wind-mariah-or-maria/435457/3 "2008-01-29T15:29:59Z")
I’ve always known it as spelled Maria. You can actually pronounce Maria as Mariah, if you happen to be an upper-class Brit. Otherwise I know nothing. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-the-wind-mariah-or-maria/435457/4 "2008-01-29T15:43:44Z")
I think it’s a traditional British pronunciation. In Shakespeare’s _Twelfth Night,_ there’s a character named “Maria”, and I’ve always heard it pronounced “Mariah”. Also, Maria Bertram in Jane Austen’s _Mansfield Park_ is pronounced this way (at least in the TV and movie productions I’ve seen). ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-the-wind-mariah-or-maria/435457/5 "2008-01-29T16:17:54Z")
Well, _whatever_ we call her, she cries “Mary.” ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-the-wind-mariah-or-maria/435457/6 "2008-01-29T16:25:15Z")
… ---
**Author:** ![fatgail](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fatgail/32/7285_2.png) [@fatgail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fatgail)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-the-wind-mariah-or-maria/435457/7 "2008-01-29T16:38:22Z")
[QUOTE=h.sapiens] I think it’s a traditional British pronunciation. In Shakespeare’s _Twelfth Night,_ there’s a character named “Maria”, and I’ve always heard it pronounced “Mariah”. [/QUOTE] Hmm it would depend on whether you were doing folio or not. If you were doing FOLIO shakespeare it would dictate which syllable requires the emphasis in order to keep the rhythm of the verse. How do I know? I was forced to f-ing do it for a play and was a rat’s hair away from taking my own life in trying to memorize that. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2008, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-the-wind-mariah-or-maria/435457/8 "2008-01-29T16:48:23Z")
From wikipedia on _Paint Your Wagon_: > [@](#): > > The Kingston Trio, an early 1960s group that was part of the folk revolution, recorded “They Call the Wind Maria” on one of their first records. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-the-wind-mariah-or-maria/435457/9 "2008-01-29T19:00:39Z")
[QUOTE=h.sapiens] I think it’s a traditional British pronunciation. In Shakespeare’s _Twelfth Night,_ there’s a character named “Maria”, and I’ve always heard it pronounced “Mariah”. Also, Maria Bertram in Jane Austen’s _Mansfield Park_ is pronounced this way (at least in the TV and movie productions I’ve seen). [/QUOTE] I’ll second this, at least the **12th Night** bit. _Mariah_ is the traditional pronunciation, _Maria_ is the traditional spelling. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-the-wind-mariah-or-maria/435457/10 "2008-01-29T19:31:37Z")
Did anybody ever _really_ call the wind Maria? It sounds kind of flaky. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-the-wind-mariah-or-maria/435457/11 "2008-01-29T19:37:51Z")
When that song was part of my high school band’s repetoire, it was spelled “Maria” on the sheet music but pronounced the way “Mariah” is commonly pronounced. Even so, I’m with **Freddy the Pig** on this, post #10. ---
**Author:** ![Vision\_of\_Love](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Vision\_of\_Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vision_of_Love)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-the-wind-mariah-or-maria/435457/12 "2008-01-29T20:20:02Z")
[QUOTE=fatgail] I think it’s PRONOUNCED Mariah, but spelled Maria for some unknown reason. I mean, I have the song on cd and it’s clearly MARIAH. [/QUOTE] I’m a fan of the singer and so I’ve read many articles that explain the meaning of her name. The song has always been spelled “They Call The Wind Maria” in those articles as far as I can remember. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-the-wind-mariah-or-maria/435457/13 "2008-01-29T20:27:37Z")
[QUOTE=Freddy the Pig] Did anybody ever _really_ call the wind Maria? It sounds kind of flaky. [/QUOTE] I call the wind Roberta, but that’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-the-wind-mariah-or-maria/435457/14 "2008-01-29T21:26:16Z")
[QUOTE=Freddy the Pig] Did anybody ever _really_ call the wind Maria? It sounds kind of flaky. [/QUOTE] Are you kidding? Away out here they got a name for rain AND wind AND fire. BTW, the rain is Tess, the fire Joe ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-the-wind-mariah-or-maria/435457/15 "2008-01-29T21:43:32Z")
In the phrase [_Black Maria_,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Maria) which can refer to phenomena as diverse as a card game and a hearse, the second word is typically pronounced to rhyme with “pariah”. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-the-wind-mariah-or-maria/435457/16 "2008-01-29T22:10:57Z")
Well, for what it’s worth, we call the squid “Mariah”. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-the-wind-mariah-or-maria/435457/17 "2008-01-29T22:24:31Z")
[QUOTE=Sternvogel] In the phrase [_Black Maria_,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Maria) which can refer to phenomena as diverse as a card game and a hearse, the second word is typically pronounced to rhyme with “pariah”. [/QUOTE] Also, I remember Lucille Ball once told a story on _I Love Lucy_, in which a lothari-us man and two squabbling women were taken to jail in a black maria. ---
**Author:** ![Jean\_Gray](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jean\_Gray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jean_Gray)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-the-wind-mariah-or-maria/435457/18 "2008-01-29T22:31:08Z")
[QUOTE=kunilou] Are you kidding? Away out here they got a name for rain AND wind AND fire. BTW, the rain is Tess, the fire Joe [/QUOTE] I thought Tess was earth. ::d&r:: ---
**Author:** ![brownie55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f14d63/32.png) [@brownie55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brownie55)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2008, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-the-wind-mariah-or-maria/435457/19 "2008-01-30T00:24:26Z")
Damn, almost 53 years old and my ignorance is still being fought. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2008, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-the-wind-mariah-or-maria/435457/20 "2008-01-30T06:43:41Z")
> [@](#): > > In fact I frequently cite the bit of trivia that Mariah Carey was named after the song. As was my cousin Mariah. Fortunately, she’s old enough that people wouldn’t think that she was named after Mariah Carey. I did a start on seeing that puzzle, too, but I figured that the answer was supposed to be MARIA. Interesting to see that it wasn’t a mistake, after all. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-the-wind-mariah-or-maria/435457.md?page=2)