A few other men called Maris
Maris Riekstins - Latvian
www.mfa.gov.lv/en/ministry/minister/Maris Verpakovskis -Latvian
forum.newstick.com/euro/2004/players_present/479_maris_verpakovskis.htmlMaris Sirmais - Latvian
www.music.lv/choirs/Latvia/conductors.htm
There were many others that I don't have time to list, most of them Latvian.
So I think that it is definately male name as well as a female name especially in Latvia but may have a different origin to the female Maris, I will leave that to the real experts though :)
I also found that Maris was the name of an Etruscan God though don't know if there is any connection between this and the modern usage of the name.
Edited to add
It may be a form of or of similar origin to Marius
MARIUS
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, French, English, Romanian
Pronounced: MER-ee-us (English) [key]
Roman family name which was derived either from MARS, the name of the Roman god of War, or else from the Latin root mas, maris meaning "male". Gaius Marius was a famous Roman consul of the 2nd century BC.
This message was edited 2/24/2008, 5:57 PM