Mariya

anna7602 · February 2011

Calling all transliteration specialists (MJReilly?)- can you tell me what the purpose of the "y" is in this name? I have a few Russian friends named Mariya and as far as I can tell, they pronounce it the same way as Maria, although perhaps the difference is just too subtle for me to hear.

I have to admit that as much as I hate random y's, I kind of like the way this looks. Coming from a family in which there are way too many Marias already (including my mother, a niece and a sister-in-law- all go by their middle names, though), I feel like the extra y makes it "fresher" for me.

krissyh21 · February 2011

Hmm, one source I found says the pronunciation is Mahr-ya

anna7602 · February 2011

krissyh21:

Hmm, one source I found says the pronunciation is Mahr-ya

Thanks. The Mariyas I met were in Russia, about 4 years ago, so clearly my memory isn't so great. The one Russian Mariya I know here goes by Masha.

mbritto4 · February 2011

My DH has a cousin who married a Swede. Her name is Mirja and she pronouces it Meer-yah. I like it for being an alternate to Maria too, if only I was remotely Swedish

anna7602 · February 2011

mbritto4:
My DH has a cousin who married a Swede. Her name is Mirja and she pronouces it Meer-yah. I like it for being an alternate to Maria too, if only I was remotely Swedish

There's Miriam, but the vibe is a little different than Mirja.

Bubbalub · February 2011

I'm not too familiar with Russian name logistics but perhaps it is a diminutive form of a name?

Here's is what Behind The Name says:

MARIYA

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian

Other Scripts: ????? (Russian, Bulgarian), ????? (Ukrainian)

Pronounced: mah-REE-yah (Russian) [key]

Russian, Ukrainian and Bulgarian form of MARIA

globetrotting7 · February 2011

Lovely name, it exists in Polish as well, a spin off of Maria. In Polish it's Maryja (Mah-rih-ya), although it's written differently it's still pronounced the same.

TBLilyRose · February 2011

feffy11:
I thought it was a cri8tyv spelling for Mariah.

I've actually seen this!

anna7602 · February 2011

mj.reilly:

Hmm, my best guess is because of the translation of the Cyrillic alphabet to English.

In Russian it would be ????? ? where:

? = ee

? = ya

We were always taught to write "ya" when translating "?"

It was always difficult for me when it came to "ee" "ye" "ya" sounds because there are so many combinations of characters (silents, ?, ? ...)

Seeing it spelled in Cyrillic helps and I now see why my ear barely distinguished the "ee" and "ya" sounds that blend into each other.

I doubt I would actually use any variation of this name due to the Maria overload in my family, but it's fun to ponder it. As routine & "expected" as Maria sounds in Spanish, I like it in English, kind of like my relationship with my own name (Anna).

Keri Marie · February 2011

I have a coworker names Marija - MAR-ih-uh. I think it's Danish?

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