About the name Mariana
Etymology & meaning
Mariana joins two of the oldest Christian names — Maria and Anna — and is also read as a form of the Latin Marianus ("belonging to Maria"). Bulgarian also uses Mariyana, Mariyan, Mariela and Marieta.
History & patron saint
As a name of the Theotokos family, Mariana celebrates on the Dormition — Golyama Bogoroditsa (15 August), the greatest of the feasts of the Mother of God. Some celebrants also keep Malka Bogoroditsa (8 September), the Nativity of the Theotokos.
Traditions & customs
On Golyama Bogoroditsa families attend church and light a candle for health, and the monasteries receive thousands of pilgrims. Celebrants treat guests to banitsa and preserves; the traditional gift is flowers, most often white.
Popularity & notable bearers
Mariana and Mariyana are among the most widespread female names of the generations born in the 1960s and 70s, and remain a classic of the Bulgarian naming system within the great Maria family.