I would have liked to use it for a daughter, but my husband cannot stand it, so that was a name we just took completely off the table; we each had a name we really liked but that the other one hated. He hated Maria, I hated SShelby.
I've only ever heard it pronounced Ma-REE-a.
Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, when you criticize him, you're a mile away and you have his shoes!
Steve Martin