A THEORY AS TO WHY "MARY" LOST FAVOR WITH THE JEWS

 A few of my Jewish friends have called their daughters, Miriam, and once one found a polite way to tell me that they'd had something of an averse reaction because it was the same name as Jesus's Blessed Mother. Not for the first time, I heard this was the reason "Mary" has not been a favorite name among the Jews. But other names of Hebrew origin which have been anglicized, such as "Peter", "Joseph" and "John" have remained in favor throughout the ages, despite their close association with Jesus. "Mary" is the anglicized version of the Hebrew "Miriam", and I'd like to put forth another reason why the name was dropped so dramatically. 

I write this just after the blessed Feast of the Epiphany, the celebration of the three kings from the East who came to adore Christ. Before they were led by the star to the manger where Baby Jesus lay, they visited Herod who lied when he said he wanted to know the whereabouts of the Child so he, too, could worship Him. After the three kings had lavished gifts on the Christ Child, they went on their way, but when they next slept, they were instructed in their dreams not to return to Herod. The day after Epiphany is a celebration of the Holy Spirit leading the kings away from a meeting with another king, Herod, who had the most despicable plans for the newborn Savior. Herod was able to execute his other plan, and he rapaciously decapitated firstborn Jewish baby boys, the "slaughter of the innocents". This did not make him a beloved ruler among the Jews. His wife was not revered either, and her name was Miriam. 

I read in the writings of the fabulous Frank Sheed that Herod had a second wife, and her name was Miriam. Then he had a third wife and her name was Miriam. Herod had a thing for Miriams! But it speaks to the great popularity of the name, and it had been a highly prized name among Jews, that was, before Herod's reign. I'd like to submit that a reason it fell out of favor was not because it was the name of Jesus's Blessed Mother, rather there were three wives of a diabolical tyrant who bore that name. My understanding is that it lost its appeal and was no longer a "common" name given a baby girl at the time of Jesus's birth, which is more likely to do with it having been synonymous with the spouses of a slayer. 

I think this bears much greater scrutiny, research and scholarship because in the absence of knowing with greater certainty why the name "Mary" was jettisoned, we may be blaming the wrong Mary, Jesus's Beloved Mother for the name attaining ill-repute.