Mary
Mary is a female given name: 97% of people named Mary are women, and it is recorded as female in 1 of the 13 countries covered.
- Verdict
- Female
- Male / female split
- 3% male / 97% female
- Confidence
- High (64 or more weighted country observations)
- Most common in
- United States, Malta, Great Britain
- US births since 1880
- 15,160 male / 4,123,200 female
- Data
- nam_dict (GFDL) + US SSA
- Updated
- 2026-09-11
How to address Mary
When you do not know their gender for certain, the full name with no title is the safe choice: "Dear Mary," in English, "Guten Tag Mary," in German. Mary is a female given name: about 97% of people named Mary are women. A quick look at a profile confirms it for certain.
Ready-made greetings in six languages
English
Dear Mary,
German
Guten Tag Mary,
French
Bonjour Mary,
Spanish
Estimado/a Mary:
Chinese
Mary您好：
Japanese
Mary様
English
Hi Mary,
German
Hi Mary,
French
Salut Mary,
Spanish
Hola Mary,
Chinese
Mary你好：
Japanese
Maryさん
This is a statistical estimate, not a statement about the gender, identity or correct form of address of any particular person.
Country breakdown
| Country | How common | Usually | Male share |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | very common | woman's name | 0% |
| Malta | very common | woman's name | 12% |
| Great Britain | common | woman's name | 12% |
| Ireland | common | woman's name | 12% |
| Norway | uncommon | woman's name | 12% |
| Denmark | uncommon | woman's name | 12% |
| Netherlands | uncommon | woman's name | 12% |
| Switzerland | uncommon | woman's name | 12% |
| India and Sri Lanka | uncommon | woman's name | 12% |
| Sweden | uncommon | woman's name | 12% |
| Belgium | rare | woman's name | 12% |
| Italy | rare | woman's name | 12% |
Show all 13 countries
| Country | How common | Usually | Male share |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | rare | woman's name | 12% |
United States birth data
15,160 male · 4,123,200 female · 4,138,360 births recorded
Since 1980: 0% male.
Frequently asked questions
Is Mary a male or female name?
Mary is a female given name: 97% of people named Mary are women, and it is recorded as female in 1 of the 13 countries covered.
How do I address Mary in an email?
When you do not know their gender for certain, the full name with no title is the safe choice: "Dear Mary," in English, "Guten Tag Mary," in German. Mary is a female given name: about 97% of people named Mary are women. A quick look at a profile confirms it for certain.
Is Mary a unisex name?
Mary is not a unisex name: 3% of people named Mary are men. Mary leans strongly female overall.
Related names
Sources
Gender by country: nam_dict, the c't first-names dictionary by Joerg Michael, roughly 44,000 names across 55 countries, licensed GFDL. US frequencies: United States Social Security Administration baby-name data, public domain. Method: how we classify names. Full dataset: data & licences. Data built 2026-09-11.
DearWho, "Is Mary a male or female name?", https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/mary (accessed 2026-09-11). Data: nam_dict (J. Michael, GFDL) and US SSA, built 2026-09-11.
BibTeX
@misc{dearwho_mary,
title = {Is Mary a male or female name?},
author = {{DearWho}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/mary},
note = {Data: nam_dict (GFDL), US SSA public domain}
}