Mair (pronounced like MIRE or MARE) is a popular Welsh girls name that can be used as a unisex or boys name (from non-Welsh origins). The name is also frequently found as a surname as well. Mair is the Welsh form of the name Mary which has many meanings varying from the unsure Hebrew definition (from the name Miryam) of “sea of bitterness” to the more likely Egyption meaning (derived from the word myr) of “beloved” or, more simply, “love.” Other meanings include “rebelliousness” and “wished for child.” The most common Welsh meanings seem to be “bitter,” similar to the French meaning of the name Marie which is, itself, a variant of Mary, and “star of the sea,” a meaning derived from the Latin words “stella maris.” Saint Jerome associated this phrase with the name of the Virgin Mary giving her the ancient title of “Our Lady, Star of the Sea. The title was meant to emphasize her role as a bastion of hope for the Christians of the time.

Variations of the name Mair include Mari and Mairwen. Mair serves double duty as the diminutive form of the name Mairwen.