by StephieL

Created on: December 29, 2007

Mary

Etymology: Latin meaning "star of the sea" or Hebrew for "sea of bitterness", partially derived from Egyptian mry meaning "beloved" or mr meaning "love"

Origin & history: The name Mary has roots in the Bible (Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene), although its roots (mry) can be traced back to Egypt.

Popularity: Since biblical times, the name Mary has been very popular. From 1880 to 1960, Mary was either the first or second most popular name, according to the US census. It fell to the bottom of the top ten in popularity by 1970, and continued it's decline to 84 as of the 2006 US census.

Fascinating facts: The nursery rhyme Mary Had a Little Lamb is based on a true incident that happened on May 24, 1830, when a young girl, Mary Sawyer, brought her pet lamb to school.
Typhoid Mary, a term used for someone who causes other people to become sick, is based on a woman, Mary Mallon, who became an unknowing carrier of typhoid and caused several typhoid outbreaks from 1900 to 1915.
To date, Mary Kay Cosmetics has awarded more than 100,000 of it's famous pink Cadillacs to it's top salespeople.
The Mary Poppins song "A Spoonful of Sugar" was inspired by lyricist Robert B. Sherman's daughter receiving a polio vaccine. He assumed she had received the vaccine as a shot, and asked her if it hurt. She responded, "No. They just gave it to me on a cube of sugar and I swallowed it down."

Namesakes: Bloody Mary or Virgin Mary drinks, Maryland, RMS Queen Mary (ship), Mary Poppins (book and Disney movie, 1964), Mary Mary Quite Contrary (nursery rhyme), Mary Had a Little Lamb (nursery rhyme), Mary Lennox (main character of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett), There's Something About Mary (movie, 1998)

Famous Persons: Queen Mary of Scots (queen, December 8, 1542-February 8, 1587), Mary Shelley (author of Frankenstein, August 30, 1797-February 1, 1851), Mary Todd Lincoln (wife of President Abraham Lincoln), Mary Kate Olsen (actress, born June 13, 1986), Mary-Louise Parker (actress, born August 2, 1964), Mary Kay Ash (entrepreneur, Mary Kay Cosmetics, May 12 1918-November 22, 2001), Mary Tyler Moore (actress, born December 29, 1936), "Typhoid" Mary Mallon (carrier of typhoid that caused several outbreaks, September 23, 1869-November 11, 1938), Resurrection Mary (ghost)

Name Variants: Maria, Mariah, Mariam, Marie, Marilyn, Maritza, Maryann, Marybeth, Marylou

http://www.babynamesworld.com/meaning_of_Mary .html
http://www.babynamescountry.com/meanings/Mary.h tml
http://www.behindthename.com/php/view.php?name=ma ry
http://history1900s.about.com/od/1900s/a/typhoidma ry.htm
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000571/
http://www. imdb.com/name/nm0001581/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt 0058331/trivia
http://www.marykay.com/company/milesto nes/default.aspx
http://www.thinkbabynames.com/babyna me.php?g=0&n=Mary&a=1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma ry_Had_a_Little_Lamb
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar y_I_of_Scotland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Kay _Ash
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Shelley
http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Tyler_Moore

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