Marie

Marie means pearl.

My name is Marie Francesca. [last name omitted]. I was born in 1978 and am of Italian descent. I was named after my mother, whose first name is MaryLee. My middle name comes from my father's first name, which is Frank. Both the names Marie and Maria are variations of the name Mary. While Maria is the Italian form and Marie is French, many Italian-Americans bear the name Marie as a first name, I suppose as an Americanized version of the Italian, Maria. I was a bit disappointed to find that one of the translations of my name is "bitterness," or more specifically, "sea of bitterness." However, upon further investigation, I came to believe that the "bitterness" is more akin to "sorrow," rather than other synonyms such as "resentment" or "cynicism." This translation is one of beautiful sadness, and originated from the story of the three Saint Mary's (Magdalene, Salome, and Jacobe), who are said to be the first to witness the empty tomb of Jesus after he was crucified and then resurrected. The three Mary's allegedly then fled from persecution from their native Judea, sailed or drifted across the sea, and finally landed at the coast of what is now France. The city at which they arrived eventually became known as "Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer," which translates to "Saint Mary's of the Sea." Some legends even attest that they carried with them the Holy Grail of Jesus.

Marie comes from Myrrh the fragrance the wise men left for the Christ child. It can mean bitter as Myrrh is bitter at first, but; it can also mean beautiful fragrance.