... Gesenius derives this name from Merî (stubbornness), with the addition of the third person plural, so as to make it mean their rebellion.  Other commentators refer it to the word Marah (bitterness), and then the bitter gum, myrrh, the same term that was applied to the brackish springs in the desert, and to which the desolate widow of Bethlehem declared her right, when she cried, "Call me not Naomi (pleasant), call me Marah (bitter)."  This is on the whole the most satisfactory derivation, but in the middle ages it was explained as Myrrh of the Sea, Lady of the Sea, or Star of the Sea, the likeness to the Latin, Keltic, and Teutonic mar being probably the guide.  Star of the Sea is the favourite explanation among Roman Catholics, as the loftiest and most poetical, and it is referred to in many of their hymns and other devotional compositions. (History of Christian Names, Yonge, 1884)