Faria
A Cornish form of Maria, historically used as a given name and then sometimes as a surname.
The #5,557 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 49,344 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The 19th-century Cornish source given here explains Faria as a Cornish form of Maria. Maria ultimately comes through Latin from the Hebrew name Miryam, traditionally associated with Mary. In English-language surname material, Faria can therefore reflect a baptismal name rather than a place-name or occupation.
History
The form appears in older Cornish naming material as a variant of Maria, and it could have passed into family naming through local or religious use. The surname is uncommon in the modern US, which fits a name that has remained regionally limited or entered English records in small numbers. Because the evidence here is limited, it is safest to treat this as a Cornish/Christian-name surname rather than assume a wider independent origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One historical Cornish source explicitly glosses Faria as the Cornish form of Maria.
From the historical record
“FANNY. A female name corrupted from Frances. FARIA. The Cornish form of Maria. FARQUHAR. Some derive this name from Gaelic fear-cbir, a just, honest, or good man. Others, who write the name Fearciar, derive it from fear-ciar, dark-grey (man). It is no doubt another form of Ferchar, and the Irish name Ferchard, from…”
— Praenomina; or, the etymology of the principal Christian names of Great Britain and Ireland