Marian is an English form of Marion, a medieval French pet form of Mary, whose Hebrew source Miryam is usually read as "beloved" or "wished-for child". Maid Marian of the Robin Hood legends and the great contralto Marian Anderson are its best-known bearers; in Poland and the Czech Republic the same spelling is a boys' name. Marian ranked number 735 in 2000 and has stayed just outside the top 1000 since, at number 1103 in 2025.