Yes, this was the standard English pronunciation of
Maria until the mid-19th century.
Cleveland Kent Evans talks about the language shifts behind it here:
http://www.behindthename.com/bb/arcview.php?id=3052716&board=gen
There's no reason why you couldn't pronounce
Maria that way these days - it's still a perfectly legitimate interpretation of the letters in the name - but it'd be an uphill battle to get anyone else to pronounce it right.
Mariah is a better bet.
www.archaeochrisell.blogspot.com
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