The city has also been known as: מאַריאַמפּאָל (Yiddish); Marijampolis, Mariampol; Starapole; Pašešupiai; Marjampol; Mariyampole; and Kapsukas (1955–1989).

After the disaster, the wife of contemporary starost of Prienai, Franciska Butler, née Ščiuka,[2] financed a new church and a monastery for the Congregation of Marian Fathers.

It was named "Maryampol", after the Blessed Virgin Mary (Marya-), with the Greek suffix -pol denoting a town.

[3] On 23 February 1792 King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Stanisław II Augustus granted the "townlet of Mariampol" with Magdeburg Law and a privilege of market organisation.

In the 19th century the town continued to grow, mostly thanks to a large number of Jewish and German settlers.

The proximity of the Prussian border made the smuggling of books in Lithuanian language, banned in Imperial Russia, easier.

Among the most notable Lithuanian scholars and writers active in Mariampol at that time were Kazys Grinius, Jonas Jablonskis and Vincas Kudirka.

Following World War I the town became part of Lithuania and was renamed to its current name Marijampolė.

[7] In late postwar years the city was rebuilt and repopulated with inhabitants from other parts of Lithuania.

The Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel synagogue in Chicago was founded by immigrants from Marijampolė.

The town is located at the crossroads of two major highways: The Via Baltica connects Helsinki with Central and Southern Europe, and the European route E28, which runs between Berlin, Germany, and Minsk, Belarus.

Marijampolė is a regional centre of light industry enterprises, construction, transport and trade.