Miriam

What Miriam means

Possibly “bitter”

From Hebrew מִרְיָם (Miryam), possibly from Aramaic מרים (Maryām, “bitter”), from a root מר (m-r) meaning "to be bitter".

Source: Wiktionary, “Miriam” (revision 93016875), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Miriam?

US: Rising: up from #293 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #309 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1917, when 1,614 girls got the name (#134 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 1,274 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 1,286 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 2,982 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in VT (5.13 per 1,000 girls), NJ (4.87 per 1,000 girls), NY (3.63 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Miriam is #246 in the US and #237 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Miriam were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Mariam589 US · 179 E&W
• Myriam27 US · 7 E&W
• Mariame22 US
• Mariem9 US
• Meriem0 US · 8 E&W
• Merriam5 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Miriam

Girls

• Salem#435Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #1,425 in 2015, #435 in 2025
• Ruth#173Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1920, with 26,102 babies; 1,781 in 2025
• Noah#624Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #1,588 in 2015, #624 in 2025
• Esther#119“star”^*
• Eliza#115Editor’s note Up from #175 in 2015 to #115 in 2025 in the US
• Ezra#833Editor’s note Up from #1,199 in 2015 to #833 in 2025 in the US

For a brother

• Salem#679Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #679 vs #1,359 in 2025
• Shiloh#278Editor’s note Used for both: 53% of US babies named Shiloh in 2025 were boys
• Elias#13Form of Elijah, meaning “Yahweh is my god”^*
• Adriel#84“flock of God”^*
• Boaz#891Editor’s note Up from #1,307 in 2015 to #891 in 2025 in the US
• Ezra#20Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #93 in 2015, #20 in 2025. Short and simple: 4 letters

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Bible, Hebrew, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Miriam’s. Rank is US 2025.