Given name · also Egyptian
Miriam
“bitter”
Miriam is used as a given name. Miriam is connected with Mary.
Original Hebrewמרים
Meaning & origin
What it means
Miriam possibly goes back to Aramaic מרים (Maryām), meaning “bitter.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Hebrew and Egyptian naming traditions.
How it developed
Miriam is used as a form of Mary.
The story
The name appears in biblical tradition, giving it a longstanding religious and cultural context.
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Miriam appears in 1 Chronicles 4:17.
From biblical name research
Miriam through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 118,190
- 280 boys · 117,910 girls
- Most popular year
- 1924
- 1,834 babies
- 2025
- 1,262
- #246 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +8%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,262 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 246 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 8.5% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 1,834 in 1924. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (284). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 107,719 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.
Miriam’s family of names
In English usage, Miriam has a diminutive in MIM. In English usage, Miriam shares an earlier linguistic root with Mary. Miriam has a related form in Mariam.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Miriam has relatives in 25 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.
26 related names in 25 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 23
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Maryamvariant · English
- Mariamvariant
- Miyanavariant
- Myriamvariant · English, German
- Miyannavariant
- Miryamvariant
- Mimsdiminutive · English
- Miriamavariant · Slovak, Czech
Show 15 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 19
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 18
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Miriam
- Miriam MakebaSouth African singer and civil rights activist (1932–2008)
- Miriam HopkinsAmerican actress (1902-1972)
- Mary the Jewessalchemist who lived between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE in Alexandria
- Miriam MargolyesBritish-Australian actressborn 1941
- Miri RegevIsraeli politicianborn 1965
- Miriam Rodríguez MartínezMexican human rights activist1960–2017
- Miriam OremansDutch tennis playerborn 1972
- Miriam StevensonAmerican actress and modelborn 1933
- Miriam A. FergusonAmerican politician (1875-1961)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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If you love Miriam, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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