Maura

Maura is the anglicized form Máire, the Irish-Gaelic and Scottish-Gaelic form of Mary. Interestingly, the Celtic Christians were the last to adopt Máire as a female personal name, considering it too holy for use until the late 15th century. In fact, the Irish reserved the specific spelling Muire and pronunciation (MOI-ra) for the Blessed Virgin Mother, while Máire (MAWR-ә) was deemed acceptable for baby girls. The English name Mary comes from the Latin Maria, which itself was borrowed from the Greek Mariam. The Greeks in turn adopted the name from the Hebrew מִרְיָם (Miryam), in reference to the sister of Moses and Aaron in Exodus. Ultimately, though, Miryam is the Hebrew form of the Egyptian element “mry” meaning “beloved” (from “mr” meaning love). Aside from Maura’s Gaelic connections to Mary, the name is also associated with “mór,” the Irish-Gaelic word for “great.” There were also two little-known 4th century Irish/Scottish saints, young sisters named Maura and Brigid, who were believed to have been martyred when killed by barbaric pagans on a pilgrimage to Rome. Maura is not a particularly popular name today in the early 21st century – she was much more commonly used in the latter half of the 29th century.