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Islamic meaning and origin of Maria/Marya/Mariya, is it acceptable in Islam?
Answer
This is an official answer by QuranicNames.com Staff
Maria (also spelled Mariyyah, Mariya, Marya, Maryah, Mariah), was the name of one of the Prophet's wives, peace and blessings of Allah upon him and his family and companions. She was a Coptic Christian from Egypt, and the meaning of her name is not known for sure in Islamic sources. Maria is most likely a Latinized form of the name Mary (Maryam), mother of Prophet Isa. The name spread to many parts of the world when the Roman Empire embraced Christianity. Since Egypt was part of the Roman Empire at the time of the Prophet, a Latin origin of the name is most probable.
When the Prophet disliked a person's name, he would change it for them, usually he did this for people whose names had a very negative meaning. But since he didn't change Maria's name, we can know with certainty that this is an acceptable name in Islam.
In Islam all names are acceptable unless they have a bad meaning, therefore since Maria is likely derived from Mariam, mother of Jesus, both of whom are greatly respected figures in Islam, this makes it a good and acceptable name, even if it had not been the name of one of the Prophet's wives.
