Maura

About Maura

Maura has two distinct histories. In Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese it is the feminine form of the Roman name Maurus, meaning “North African” or “Moorish.” In Irish it is an English spelling of Máire, the Irish form of Mary. The matching spelling does not give the two traditions one shared root.

Meaning and separate origins

Latin Maurus was a geographical name connected with North Africa and became the name of several early saints. Maura is its feminine counterpart, while Mauro is a modern masculine relative in Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Irish Maura belongs to the much larger Mary family. Mary's deeper origin is disputed, so Maura should not automatically be translated as “bitter.” It has also been associated with Irish mór, meaning “great,” but its established relationship with Máire remains central to that tradition.

Moira and Moyra are other English spellings connected with the Irish family, and Maureen is a familiar diminutive relative. The Roman and Irish branches therefore lead toward different sets of related names.

Pronunciation

English Maura is usually MOR-uh, with two syllables and stress on the first. In Italian and Spanish, the first syllable is closer to mow, rhyming with how: MOW-rah.

The difference matters when comparing bearers from different language backgrounds. Both pronunciations preserve two syllables, but the opening vowel distinguishes the usual English form from the southern European one.

Maura Tierney

Actress Maura Tierney is known for playing Abby Lockhart in ER and Helen Solloway in The Affair. Her work also includes roles in Rescue Me and The Good Wife, giving the name a substantial presence in American television drama.

Tierney won the Golden Globe in 2016 for supporting actress in a television series, limited series, or television film for The Affair. The award belongs specifically to that performance rather than to her earlier work on ER.

Maura Dooley

Poet Maura Dooley has published collections including Kissing a Bone and Life Under Water, both shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize. Her family connections with Ireland and Wales have been important to her writing.

She was poet in residence at the Jane Austen House Museum in Chawton in 2015. Poems from the residency appeared in A Quire of Paper, accompanied by contributions she invited from other poets in All My Important Nothings.

Dooley received a Cholmondeley Award in 2016. Her work connects Maura with poetry, editing, and literary teaching, alongside Tierney's screen career.

American popularity

Maura reached its largest recorded American birth count for girls in 1964: 430 births, ranked No. 468. It was recorded for 308 girls in 2000 and 193 in 2010.

In 2025, 127 girls received the name, placing it at No. 1,640. Its current American use is smaller than at its mid-1960s high, while the name retains both its Irish and Roman histories.

How popular is Maura?

In 2025, Maura ranked #1,640 among girls in the United States, with 127 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1903; its largest annual count was 430 in 1964. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.