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I knew a little girl named Mariah. She had red hair and was supersmart and her personality took away any association with Mariah Carey. Initially when I hear the name Mariah, I think of Carey but I think if I met someone named that, the association would be easily erased.

I used to work for the city with "youth at risk" (we basically had afternoon programs after school to keep them off the streets) and Mariah was one of the regulars that showed up. So I think of her, not Carey

Mariah is my name

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Mariah is my name and I love it. I have had many positive comments on it throughout my life. Growing up, I never knew anyone else with my name. I am 25 now, so I was named way before the Mariah Carey era. My parents named me after the song "They Call the Wind Mariah" in the movie "Paint Your Wagon."

I like it a lot - it's very pretty. I don't associate with Mariah Carey, but I'm sure many do. Maria and Marie are also nice, but I prefer them as middle names.

I definitely think Mariah Carey...I prefer Marie.

I love Mariah. It is on my list for girls. I think it is a really beautiful name.
I don't think of Mariah Carey at all when I hear the name.

Bah, all I think of when I hear Mariah is Mariah Carey, probably because she annoys the bejesus out of me. It's a pity because I otherwise think Mariah is a nice name. I like Moriah though. I prefer Maria over Marie.

Well, I can't give you an objective opinion, considering it's the name I bear ;) I think it's pretty and unique, without being totally out there.
As for how people react to it- most when they comment on it say it's pretty or interesting. It's not necessarily bad to have a celebrity with your name, if it's otherwise unheard of- it helps people spell and remember it! As long as the celebrity in question isn't negative or overwhelms the association of the name- like Elvis for example.

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My parents actually named me after the Marias river in Montana(pronounced the same as Mariah) but since our last name starts with an S they took off the "S" and added an "H". Only later did they find it was used by others. This was way before Mariah Carey came on the scene. So now because of her, there is a crop of Mariahs much younger than me ;)

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I'd be interested to see what others have to say about it.

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I really like the name Mariah far above Maria and Marie. To me it has a pretty, smart, spunky sound which I love. I suppose because she's big in Country music Mariah Carey will be thought of when people hear the name but really to me it has such a fresh face because of it's not being popular that a child would create their own image for this name.
It's a name that would definitely work well for a little girl, teenager or woman.

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As a side note - In a couple of her novels Jane Austen used Maria for a character and in movie, radio drama, and books on tape productions of those novels the name Maria is always pronounced like Mariah. So I really prefer the spelling without the -h on the end but in this world of mu-ree-uhs it would be a constant battle to get Maria pronounced like Mariah! :)

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Hope this helps.
Laurie :)

It does nothing for me, I'm not overly excited when I hear it. I do however, love Marie.

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I like the name Mariah. I like that spelling of it as well.

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See I pronounce Mariah (mar-eye-uh)
Maria (mar-ee-uh)
Marie (mar-ee)

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And I like the sound of Mariah best. I also like Maria and Marie as well. I just prefer Mariah if Im going by first names. I think Maria and Marie make pretty mn's IMO :)