Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
Mariah is a form of Maria. Maria comes from Latin, and ultimately from Biblical Hebrew.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Mariah through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 115,279
- 183 boys · 115,096 girls
- Most popular year
- 1996
- 5,454 babies
- 2025
- 693
- #448 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −43%
- Cooling
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 693 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 448 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 43.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 5,446 in 1996. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (77). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 90,630 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Mariah’s family of names
In English usage, Mariah shares an earlier linguistic root with Mary. In English usage, Mariah has a related form in Maria. In English usage, Mariah has a conventional equivalent in the German form Maria.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Mariah has relatives in 3 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.
2 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Mariah
- Mariah CareyAmerican singer (born 1969)
- Mariah MayBritish professional wrestler (born 1998)
- Mariah BellAmerican figure skaterborn 1996
- Mariah O'BrienAmerican actress, model and interior designerborn 1971
- Mariah the ScientistAmerican singer (born 1997)
- Mariah BullockAmerican soccer playerborn 1991
- Mariah LopezAmerican activistborn 1985
- Mariah BuzolinBrazilian actressborn 1991
- Mariah AngeliqAmerican singerborn 1999
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Mariah, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Hannah
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Marie-Pier
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Abra
“father of a multitude (of nations)” · “father of a multitude; father of nations”
>99% girls