Meaning & History

"pleasantness"

From the Hebrew namemeaning. In the Old Testament this is the name of the mother-in-law of Ruth . After the death of her husband and sons, she returned to Bethlehem with Ruth. There she declared that her name should be Mara (see Ruth 1:20 ).

Though long common as a Jewish name,was not typically used as an English Christian name until after the Protestant Reformation . A notable bearer is the British model Naomi Campbell (1970-).