Mari

Mari is a widely distributed feminine name with several distinct origins. In most European contexts it functions as a short form or vernacular variant of Maria, the Latin and Greek form of the Hebrew name Miriam, whose meaning is debated but may relate to words for beloved, bitter, or sea of sorrow; it appears across Estonian, Finnish, Welsh, Breton, Hungarian, and Scandinavian naming traditions in this role. In Japanese it is an independent feminine name written with various kanji combinations, commonly characters meaning truth and reason or love and village. In Basque mythology Mari is the name of the supreme goddess, a powerful deity associated with the earth and weather who dwells on mountaintops, making it one of the few given names with roots in pre-Roman Iberian religious tradition. Related forms include Mary, Marie, Mari, Mária, and Meri.