# Miriam (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/miriam/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Hebrew |
| Meaning | “bitter”, “to be bitter” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmɪɹi.əm/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Mims, Mim |
| Variant spellings | Miryam, Myriam |
| US babies named this | 118,190 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 280 / 117,910 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 4,299, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Hebrew מִרְיָם (Miryam), possibly from Aramaic מרים (Maryām, “bitter”), from a root מר (m-r) meaning "to be bitter". The meaning of this name which is the Old Testament equivalent of Mary has been debated for centuries. Some other explanations are mutiny / rebellion / disobedience from a root מרי (m-r-y).

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 947 | 332 |
| 2012 | 1,051 | 305 |
| 2013 | 1,114 | 286 |
| 2014 | 1,075 | 304 |
| 2015 | 1,106 | 293 |
| 2016 | 1,122 | 290 |
| 2017 | 1,152 | 284 |
| 2018 | 1,109 | 300 |
| 2019 | 1,165 | 285 |
| 2020 | 1,151 | 268 |
| 2021 | 1,193 | 259 |
| 2022 | 1,203 | 261 |
| 2023 | 1,246 | 249 |
| 2024 | 1,279 | 249 |
| 2025 | 1,262 | 246 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 7 | 5,287 |
| 1984 | 7 | 5,374 |
| 1985 | 8 | 5,011 |
| 1986 | 7 | 5,733 |
| 1988 | 5 | 8,114 |
| 1989 | 16 | 3,560 |
| 1991 | 11 | 4,990 |
| 1992 | 15 | 4,039 |
| 1993 | 7 | 7,354 |
| 1995 | 8 | 6,783 |
| 1996 | 15 | 4,324 |
| 1997 | 9 | 6,443 |
| 1999 | 5 | 11,035 |
| 2002 | 5 | 11,871 |
| 2017 | 6 | 11,726 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 115 | 398 |
| 2012 | 135 | 357 |
| 2013 | 128 | 355 |
| 2014 | 137 | 333 |
| 2015 | 156 | 309 |
| 2016 | 156 | 320 |
| 2017 | 171 | 287 |
| 2018 | 155 | 306 |
| 2019 | 166 | 293 |
| 2020 | 178 | 267 |
| 2021 | 172 | 275 |
| 2022 | 204 | 230 |
| 2023 | 188 | 241 |
| 2024 | 186 | 259 |
| 2025 | 197 | 237 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: مَرْيَم
- Catalan: Míriam
- Czech: Miriam
- Danish: Miriam, Mirjam
- Dutch: Miriam, Mirjam, Myriam
- Estonian: Mirjam
- Finnish: Mirjami
- French: Myriam
- German: Miriam, Mirjam
- Hebrew: מִרְיָם
- Hindi: मरियम
- Indonesian: Mariam
- Italian: Miriam
- Norwegian: Miriam, Mirjam
- Portuguese: Miriam
- Russian: Мариа́мна, Мари́я, Ма́рья
- Spanish: Míriam, Mirian, Míryam, Miryan
- Swedish: Mirjam, Miriam
- Turkish: Meryem

## People named Miriam

- Miriam Hopkins, American actress (1902-1972)
- Miriam Margolyes, British-Australian actress
- Miriam Oremans, Dutch tennis player
- Miriam Stevenson, American actress and model
- Miriam A. Ferguson, American politician (1875-1961)
- Miriam Defensor Santiago, Filipina politician, lawyer, and author (1945–2016)
- Miriam Adelson, American-Israeli physician and business billionaire (born in 1945)
- Miriam Neureuther, German cross-country skier and biathlete
- Miriam Shor, American actress
- Miriam Welte, German cyclist
- Miriam Cooper, American actress (1891–1976)
- Miriam Rothschild, British natural scientist and author (1908-2005)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.