girl's name
Maryam
MAR-ee-am
- Origin Hebrew
- Gender Girl
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 100 (E&W)
- Births on record 46,706
the United States
#351
2025 births
Maryam is a girl's name of Hebrew origin, the Arabic form of Miriam and Mary. Its meaning is genuinely uncertain — the oldest candidates are "bitter" and "beloved" — and it is the only woman named in the Quran.
- Maryam is a name of Hebrew origin.
- Peaked in England and Wales in 2025, when 825 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in England and Wales.
- Today about 1 in 639 babies in England and Wales is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1996.
Maryam over time
Births per decade in England and Wales, 1990s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1990s | 860 |
| 2000s | 3,979 |
| 2010s | 6,725 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 4,042 |
What Maryam means
Maryam has no settled meaning. The readings most often given are bitter, from the Hebrew mar, beloved, from an Egyptian root, and wished-for child. The name is far older than the explanations offered for it.
Where Maryam comes from
Maryam is the Arabic and Aramaic form of the Hebrew Miryam, borne by the sister of Moses and by the mother of Jesus. Its meaning has been argued over for two thousand years. The Hebrew reading takes mar, bitter, sometimes extended to rebellious. A competing account traces it to the Egyptian mry, beloved, which fits a name appearing in a family that had lived in Egypt. Later Latin writers proposed stella maris, star of the sea, which is a medieval reinterpretation of the Latin spelling rather than an etymology. In Islam Maryam is the only woman called by name in the Quran, which has its own chapter named for her — a status that carried the name across the Muslim world independently of its Christian use.
Maryam in use
Our data shows Maryam peaking in 2025 and still rising, at 52 in England and Wales against 351 in the United States. It sits alongside Mariam, Mary, Miriam, Maria and Marie — all the same name, and between them one of the most-given names in recorded history.
How popular is Maryam?
In 2025, Maryam was given to 825 babies in England and Wales, ranking #52 that year. It is one of the most popular names in England and Wales.
Where Maryam is used
Figures for England and Wales withhold any name given to fewer than three babies in a year, so a gap means the name fell below that floor rather than went unused. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Maryam
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Maryam also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Maryam over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
3 nicknames for Maryam
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Maryam in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Arabic
- Maria
- Catalan
- Maria
- Czech
- Miriam
- Danish
- Maria
- French
- Miriam
- German
- Maria
- Greek
- Maria
- Japanese
- Maria
- Latin
- Maria
- Norwegian
- Miriam
- Portuguese
- Maria
- Romanian
- Maria
- Swedish
- Maria
- Turkish
- Meryem
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Meriem
Sibling names for Maryam
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Maryam — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Maryam
What does the name Maryam mean?
There is no agreed meaning. The oldest candidates are "bitter," from the Hebrew mar, and "beloved," from an Egyptian root.
Is Maryam in the Quran?
Yes — she is the only woman named in it, and the nineteenth chapter is named after her.
Are Maryam and Mary the same name?
Yes. Maryam is the Arabic and Aramaic form; Mary is the English one, by way of Greek and Latin.
How popular is the name Maryam?
In 2025, Maryam was given to 825 babies in England and Wales, ranking #52 that year. It is one of the most popular names in England and Wales.
Is Maryam a girl's or a boy's name?
Maryam is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
When was Maryam most popular?
Maryam peaked in 2025, when 825 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Maryam?
Maryam is usually shortened to Mary, Mimi and Ryam.
Is Maryam a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Maryam currently ranks #52 in England and Wales. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.