When discussing the most devoted followers of Jesus’ the New Testament writers say far less about three of the apostles-Barholomew; James, son of Alphaeus; and Thaddaeus (likely the nickname for Judas, the son of James)-than they say about Mary Magdalene.

She was from Magdala, a small town in Galilee in northern Israel, And since Mary was such a popular name in the New Testament, people took to calling this particular Mary by her hometown.