The name Maria, in its multiple incarnations (Marie, Mary, Marion, etc., etc.), has obviously lingered in Western naming tradition for thousands of years. And while the majority of women bearing the name today probably owe it to at least some indirect connection to the Virgin Mary, or less likely, Mary Magdalene, I’m wondering what the origin of the “Mar___” naming tradition is thought to be.
On the one hand, we have the Latin mar, simply meaning “sea” and an obvious choice for the origin of a name. Sounds-pretty, let’s-name-her-after-the-ocean sort of thing. On the other hand, Maria is definitely the feminine of the family Marius, which produced the consular general of wide repute and influence in the Roman Republic. Could the name have its origin with this Arpinate clan, the men being Marii, the women being Mariae?
And then, of course, is the idea that the name was Hebrew, and the other possibility that it was Greek and found its way into the wider Mediterranean culture through Hellenistic influences, prior to or contemporaneous with Roman expansion.
I suppose it’s more of an etymology question than a classics question, but I’m wondering if anyone has a line on the origin of the name.