Miriam

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Maria in BR Brazil, ES Spain, AR Argentina and 13 more, Mary in US United States, GB United Kingdom, PH Philippines and 3 more, Мария in RU Russia, BG Bulgaria and Marie in FR France.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 25 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Miriam is also recorded as 8 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Catalan given name96K records spelled Miriam10 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Spain, France, United States, Belgium

  Languages: Catalan, French

  Also written Míriam, Mìrìam, Mïrïãm, Mîríäm, Miriàm

• a separate given name75K records spelled Miriam4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Canada

  Also written Míriam, Míríam, Miríam

• Khmer given name20K records spelled Miriam3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Spain, United States, Italy, Vietnam

  Languages: Khmer, Vietnamese

  Also written Míriam

• Finnish given name10K records spelled Miriam6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland, Hungary, United States, Spain

  Languages: Finnish, Hungarian, Estonian

  Also written Míriam, Mîrîàm

• Lao given name7.0K records spelled Miriam9 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Laos, United States, Thailand, Chile

  Languages: Lao, Thai

  Also written Míriam, Mïrïäm, Miríam, Miriám, Mïrïåm

• Indonesian given name6.8K records spelled Miriam3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Indonesia, Spain, Peru

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written Míriam

• French given name4.0K records spelled Miriam75 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, Belgium, Spain

  Languages: French, Catalan, Korean

  Also written Myriam, Míriam, 미리암, Myrïam, Myriãm

• Turkish given name2.5K records spelled Miriam6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Spain, Türkiye, Italy

  Languages: Turkish, Uzbek, Azerbaijani

  Also written Míriam

76 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Miriam is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• The etymology is debated; it may derive from the Egyptian 'mry' meaning 'beloved' or 'love'. In Hebrew tradition, it is often associated with 'mar' (bitter) or 'meri' (rebellion).

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• The etymology of the name Miriam is disputed; proposed origins include an Egyptian root meaning "beloved" or a Hebrew root related to "rebellion" or "bitterness".

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• Miriam is a name of Hebrew and Egyptian origin implying 'beloved' or 'wished-for child'. It is the original Hebraic form of the name Mary.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• In Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew name of Moses and Aaron’s sister; etymology discussed in the entry continuation.

  as a name·Diccionario etimológico de nombres propios

• In English, Hebrew: bitter; also used for 'star of the sea'.

  as a name·Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular…

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Maryb. 18ILnot in their usual namemother of Jesus Christ
• Miriam Hopkinsb. 1902USAmerican actress (1902-1972)
• Miriam Makebab. 1932ZASouth African singer and civil rights activist (1932–2008)
• Miriam Stevensonb. 1933USAmerican actress and model
• Míriam Colónb. 1936USPuerto Rican actress (1936-2017)
• Miriam Margolyesb. 1941GBBritish-Australian actress
• Miriam Shorb. 1971USAmerican actress
• Robynb. 1979SEnot in their usual nameSwedish singer (born 1979)
• Miriam Bryantb. 1991SESwedish pop singer and songwriter
• Belle Knoxb. 1995USnot in their usual nameAmerican pornographic actress

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,448 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Miriam?

We estimate roughly 21 million people bear Miriam (counting its spellings and scripts) across 12 countries in our records.

In which country does Miriam have the most bearers?

Miriam is most frequently recorded in Argentina, where it is most often spelled maria.

How common is Miriam compared with other names?

In Argentina, Miriam is the most common given name of 517,176 given names recorded there.

Is Miriam a male or female name?

Miriam is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Miriam mean?

Recorded meaning: Miriam represents prophetic inspiration, the power of praise, and leadership among women.