🔥Miriam

Hebrew or Egyptian

"drop of the sea, bitter, or beloved"

Miriam Origin and Meaning

The name Miriam is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "drop of the sea, bitter, or beloved".

The oldest-known form of Mary, serious and solemn Miriam has been a particular favorite of observant Jewish parents. But we can see it extending beyond that sphere into the next wave of Old Testament names post-Rachel, Rebecca, Sarah, Hannah, and Leah. Miriam is currently the Number 1 girls' name in Israel.

Miriam is the Old Testament form of the Hebrew Maryam. The original meaning of Maryam is uncertain, but theories include "drop of the sea" (from Hebrew roots mar "drop" and yam "sea"); "bitter" (from Hebrew marah "bitterness"); and "beloved" (from the Egyptian root mr).

In the Old Testament, Miriam appears in Exodus as the older sister of Moses and Aaron, a prophetess who led the triumphal song and dance after the crossing of the Red Sea and deliverance of the Israelites from the Egyptians.

Miriam is an artistic character in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Marble Faun and in Henry James's The Tragic Muse, Miriam Rooth is a talented young half-Jewish actress, Miriam Leviers is a farm girl in D. H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers, and Miriam is the eponymous central character of a haunting Truman Capote short story.

One notable namesake is South African singer Miriam Makeba. More relaxed nicknames: Miri, Mira, and Mimi.

Miriam Rank in US Top 1000

# 251 in the US

Miriam Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 256 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Miriam

• 251 US 2023
• 256 Nameberry 2025
• 299 Future 2028
• 243 England 2023
• 100 Germany 2016
• 47 Italy 2021
• 93 Spain 2016
• 49 Portugal 2014
• 164 Mexico 2021
• 202 Switzerland 2020
• 37 Austria 2023
• 162 Poland 2020
• 17 Israel 2023

20 Names Similar to Miriam

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Miriam.

• Georgiana
• Philippa
• Susannah
• Claudia
• Henrietta
• Augusta
• Lucille
• Helen
• Irene
• Dorothea
• Marguerite
• Bernadette
• Esther
• Francesca
• Tabitha
• Marjorie
• Constance
• Georgina
• Sylvia
• Millicent

Famous People Named Miriam

• Miriam Biblical sister of Moses
• (Ellen) Miriam Hopkins American actress
• (Zenzile) Miriam Makeba South African singer and activist
• Miriam Margolyes English,Australian actress
• Miriam Stoppard English medical writer
• Miriam Oremans Dutch tennis player
• Miriam Leslie (born Miriam Florence Folline) American publisher and author
• Miriam Katherine McDonald Canadian actress
• Miriam Arlene Stockley South African,British singer
• Miriam Lau (Kin yee), Hong Kong politician
• Miriam Yeung (Chin wah), Hong Kong actress and singer
• Miriam "Mira" Weinstein mother of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein; half of the namesake for his production company Miramax
• Miriam Melanie Bryant Swedish,Finnish singer,songwriter
• Miriam O'Callaghan Irish TV and radio broadcaster
• Miriam Weeks aka Belle Knox American adult film actress and student
• Miriam Blennerhassett member of the Irish music group Anuna

The name Miriam in Pop Culture

• Miriam Forcible a retired actress in "Coraline" by Neil Gaiman
• Miriam Pataki Helga's mother on the series "Hey Arnold!"
• Miriam Pelham character in Miriam's Well by Lois Ruby
• Miriam Fisher character in "Freak" by Marcella Pixley
• Miriam Miller main character in "Miriam" by Truman Capote
• Miriam Blaylock character in 1983 film "The Hunger"
• "Miriam " Finnish film and its main character
• Miriam main character in H. Rider Haggard's, Pearl Maiden
• Miriam Reinoso main character and antagonist of the Argentinian teen series "Caídos del Mapa"
• MIRIAM English Vocaloid
• Miriam 'Miri' Ammerman protagonist in Judy Blume's novel In The Unlikely Event
• Miriam "Mim" Possible great,great,aunt of Kim Possible on "Kim Possible"
• Miriam Kent character on TV's "H2O: Just Add Water"
• Miriam Beaks a character from the Nickelodeon cartoon "Harvey Beaks"
• Miriam "Midge" Maisel character on TV's "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"

International Variations of the name Miriam

• Mariam Hebrew/Israeli
• Miri Hebrew/Israeli
• Mirit Hebrew/Israeli
• Mirjam Finnish
• Mimi French
• Maryam Arabic