Mary

Mary is a popular female name worldwide. It is possibly derived from either the ancient Egyptian name Mery, meaning 'beloved' or from the Hebrew name Miryam, thought to mean 'bitter' or 'rebellious.' Mary is the most popular female name in the United States. During the 1990 US Census, approximately 2.629% of females counted had the first name Mary. Patricia was a distant second at 1.073%. (The 1990 Census data showed that Mary is less popular than the most popular men's names (James 3.318%, John 3.271%, Robert 3.143%, Michael 2.629% of males), however.) According to the Social Security Administration, Mary was the most popular name for baby girls in the United States every year from (at least) 1880-1946 and again from 1953-61.

Quotation

In 1905, George M. Cohan wrote a song called "Mary" http://www.rienzihills.com/SING/mary.htm which ended:

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:For it is Mary, Mary,

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:Plain as any name can be

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:But with propriety,

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:Society will say Marie

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:But it was Mary, Mary,

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:Long before the fashions came

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:And there is something

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:There that sounds so fair,

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:It's a grand old name

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