Núria

Núria (Eastern Catalan: [ˈnuɾiə]) is a Catalan girls' name taken from the Virgin of Núria, a Marian shrine located in the eponymous valley, the Vall de Núria. The name also occurs in Spanish without the accent as Nuria, given that the Spanish name of the valley is el valle de Nuria. The placename, Núria, is believed to be of Basque origin according to Joan Coromines, and related to the word Norra, a variant of Andorra, and meaning "place between valleys."[1]

Stained glass in the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Núria

The name Nuria (Arabic: نوريّة‎) has also been linked to the Arabic unisex name Nur meaning light.

The name, originally Mare de Déu de Núria, derives from Marian devotion to the Virgin of Nuria (Catalan Mare de Déu de Núria). The name is very popular in Catalonia, especially in the comarques of Ripollès—where the sanctuary is located in the municipality of Queralbs—Priorat, Pallars Jussà, Osona, Noguera, Conca de Barberà, and Cerdanya.

In 2007 it was the seventh most common female name in Catalonia, with its most recent peak of popularity recorded in the decade of the 1970s.[2] The Saint's day is September 8, for Our Lady of Nuria.