Maryam or Mariam is the

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

form of the biblical name

Miriam Miriam (, lit. ‘rebellion’) is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus. The Torah refers to her as "Miria ...

(the name of the prophetess

, the sister of

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

). It is notably the name of

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

the mother of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. The spelling in the

Semitic abjad An abjad ( or abgad) is a writing system in which only consonants are represented, leaving the vowel sounds to be inferred by the reader. This contrasts with alphabets, which provide graphemes for both consonants and vowels. The term was introd ...

s is ''mrym'' (, , ), which may be vowelized in a number of ways (''Meriem'', ''Miryam'', ''Miriyam'', ''Mirijam'', ''Marium'', ''Maryam'', ''Mariyam'', ''Marijam'', ''Meryem'', ''Merjeme'', ''Myriem'', etc.) Via its use in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

the name has been adopted worldwide, especially in

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, but also in

Eastern Christianity Eastern Christianity comprises Christianity, Christian traditions and Christian denomination, church families that originally developed during Classical antiquity, classical and late antiquity in the Eastern Mediterranean region or locations fu ...

, in

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, and

in Islam IN, In or in may refer to: Dans * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Independen ...

. In

Latin Christianity The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 ''sui iuris'' churches in full communion wi ...

, the Greek form was adopted as latinate (whence French and English

). Forms retaining the final -''m'' are found throughout the Middle East, in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

, Georgian,

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

, and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, as well as the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

, including

Amharic Amharic is an Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amhara people, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other metropolitan populati ...

Tigrinya Tigrinya may refer to: * Tigrinya language Tigrinya, sometimes romanized as Tigrigna, is an Ethio-Semitic languages, Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic languages, Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It i ...

, and Somali,

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

and in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

as in south

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Etymology

The name may have originated from the

Egyptian language The Egyptian language, or Ancient Egyptian (; ), is an extinct branch of the Afro-Asiatic languages that was spoken in ancient Egypt. It is known today from a large corpus of surviving texts, which were made accessible to the modern world ...

; in a suggestion going back to 1897, it is possibly derivative of the root ''mr'' "love; beloved" A. Maas
"The Name of Mary"
''

The Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...

'' (1912), citing Franz von Hummelauer (''in Exod. et Levit.'', Paris, 1897, p. 161) (compare '' mry.t-ymn'' "Merit-Amun", i.e. "beloved of

Amun Amun was a major ancient Egyptian deity who appears as a member of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. Amun was attested from the Old Kingdom together with his wife Amunet. His oracle in Siwa Oasis, located in Western Egypt near the Libyan Desert, r ...

"). Maas (1912) references (but rejects) a 1906 suggestion interpreting the name as "beloved of

Yahweh Yahweh was an Ancient Semitic religion, ancient Semitic deity of Weather god, weather and List of war deities, war in the History of the ancient Levant, ancient Levant, the national god of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Judah, Judah and Kingdom ...

". Maas (1912) further proposes possible derivation from Hebrew, either from ''marah'' "to be rebellious", or (more likely) from ''mara'' "well nourished". The name has a long tradition of scholarly etymologisation; some seventy suggestions are treated by

Otto Bardenhewer Bertram Otto Bardenhewer (Mönchengladbach, 16 March 1851 – Munich, 23 March 1935) was a German Catholic patrologist. His ''Geschichte der altkirchlichen Literatur'' is a standard work, re-issued in 2008. For Bardenhewer, a patrologist was n ...

in monographic form in his ''Der Name Maria'' (1895). It was early etymologized as containing the Hebrew root ''mr'' "bitter" (cf.

myrrh Myrrh (; from an unidentified ancient Semitic language, see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a few small, thorny tree species of the '' Commiphora'' genus, belonging to the Burseraceae family. Myrrh resin has been used ...

), or ''mry'' "rebellious".

St. Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian priest, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known for his translation of the Bible ...

(writing c. 390), following

Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

, translates the name as "drop of the sea" (''stilla maris'' in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

), from Hebrew מר ''mar'' "drop" (cf. Isaiah 40:15) and ים ''yam'' "sea". This translation was subsequently rendered ''stella maris'' ("star of the sea") due to

scribal error A typographical error (often shortened to typo), also called a misprint, is a mistake (such as a spelling or transposition error) made in the typing of printed or electronic material. Historically, this referred to mistakes in manual typesetting ...

, whence the Virgin Mary's title Star of the Sea.

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

, an 11th-century Jewish commentator on the Bible, wrote that the name was given to the sister of Moses because of the Egyptians' harsh treatment of Jews in Egypt. Rashi wrote that the Israelites lived in Egypt for two hundred ten years, including eighty-six years of cruel enslavement that began at the time Moses' elder sister was born. Therefore, the girl was called Miriam, because the Egyptians made life bitter (מַר, ''mar'') for her people. "From the time that Miriam was born, the Egyptians intensified the bondage upon Israel; therefore, she was called Miriam, because they made it bitter (מַר) for them."

Modern given name

Modern given names derived from Aramaic ''Maryam'' are frequent in

Christian culture Christian culture generally includes all the cultural practices which have developed around the religion of Christianity. There are variations in the application of Christian beliefs in different cultures and traditions. Christian culture has i ...

, as well as, due to the Quranic tradition of Mary, extremely frequently given in Islamic cultures. There are a large number of variants and derivations. The New Testament gives the name as both ''Mariam'' (Μαριάμ) and ''Maria'' (Μαρία). The

Latin Vulgate The Vulgate () is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It is largely the work of Saint Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels used by the Roman Church. Later, of his own initia ...

uses the

first declension The first declension is a category of Latin declension, declension that consists of mostly grammatical gender#Overview, feminine nouns in Ancient Greek and Latin with the defining feature of a long ''ā'' (analysed as either a part of the stem or a ...

, ''Maria''. ''Maryam'' is the now-usual English-language rendition of the Arabic name. The spelling ''Mariyam'' (in German-language contexts also ''Marijam'') is sometimes used as a close transcription from Hebrew, Aramaic or Arabic. The spelling ''Mariam'' is current in transliteration from Georgian and

, and in German-language transliteration from Aramaic or Arabic. ''Mariam'' was also a current spelling in early modern English, as in the Jacobean era play ''

The Tragedy of Mariam ''The Tragedy of Mariam, the Fair Queen of Jewry'' is a Jacobean-era drama written by Elizabeth Cary, Viscountess Falkland, and first published in 1613. There is some speculation that Cary may have written a play before ''The Tragedy of Maria ...

''.

Derived names

''Maryam'' as the name of

Mary mother of Jesus Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under various titles such as virgin or queen, many of them mentioned in the Litany of Loreto. ...

is also part of given names consisting of

genitive construction In grammar, a genitive construction or genitival construction is a type of grammatical construction used to express a relation between two nouns such as the possession of one by another (e.g. "John's jacket"), or some other type of connection (e ...

s ('' idafa'') in Ethiopian tradition, such as '' Haile Mariam'' "power of Mary", '' Baeda Maryam'' "Hand of Mary", several people ''

Newaya Maryam Newaya Maryam (; throne name Wedem Asfare or Gemma Asfare) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1372 to 1382, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the eldest son of Newaya Krestos. Reign During his reign, Haqq ad-Din II of the Walasma dynasty ...

'' "Property of Mary" or ''

Takla Maryam Takla Maryam (), throne name Hezbe Nañ () was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1430 to 1433, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the third son of Dawit I. Manoel de Almeida remarks that the descendants of Takla Maryam had been taken from Am ...

'' "Plant of Mary", used as masculine given names. In Arabic,

Marwan Marwan, Merwan or Marwen or Mervan () is an Arabic male given name derived from the word ''maruww'' () with the meaning of either minerals, 'flint(-stone)', 'quartz"' or 'hard stone of nearly pure silica'. However, the Arabic name for quartz is ' ...

, meaning "one who is fragrant like myrrh", could be the masculine form of Maryam. Ustad Ali Maryam, architect in 19th century Persia, added ''Maryam'' to his name after building a house for an important woman with that name.

People named Maryam

Notable people with the name Maryam

Maryam Abacha Maryam Abacha (; born 4 March 1947) is the widow of Sani Abacha, Nigeria's military ruler from 1993 to 1998. Early life and career In 1999, Maryam Abacha said that her husband acted in the good will of Nigeria. A Nigerian government official ...

(born 1945), widow of Sani Abacha, ''de facto'' President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998 * Maryam Tanveer Ali, popularly known as

Maya Ali Maryam Tanveer Ali (born 27 July 1989) known professionally Maya Ali, is a Pakistani actress who works in Urdu films and television series. She has received several accolades, including a Lux Style Award and three Hum Awards. Ali began her c ...

, Pakistani television actress *

Maryam Babangida Maryam Babangida (November 1, 1948 – December 27, 2009) was the wife of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, who was Nigeria's head of state from 1985 to 1993. Her husband was the target of criticism for rampant corruption during his regime. S ...

(1948–2009), wife of Nigeria's head of state from 1985 to 1993 *

Maryam d'Abo Maryam d'Abo (born 27 December 1960) is a British actress, best known as Bond girl Kara Milovy in the 1987 James Bond film '' The Living Daylights''. Early life Born in London to Georgian mother Nino Kvinitadze, daughter of General Giorgi Kv ...

(born 1960), English film and television actress *

Maryam Fatima Maryam Fatima () is a Pakistani Model and Television Actress. She made her acting debut in January 2016 with a leading role in the highly acclaimed Hum TV drama serial ''Lagaao, Lagao'' alongside Zainab Qayyum and Adnan Jaffar. She has played t ...

, Pakistani actress *

Maryam Goumbassian Maryam Goumbassian (; 1831, Constantinople – 1909) was an Ottoman Armenian actress. She belonged to the very first group of actresses in the Ottoman Empire, having debuted in 1862. Prior to her career on stage, she had been a governess. Sh ...

(1831–1909), an Ottoman Armenian actress * Maryam Khan (born 1989), American politician *

Maryam Matar Maryam Mohamed Fatma Matar (, born 1975) is an Emirati geneticist, medical researcher, and radio host, based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Matar is the first woman to serve as director-general in the government of Dubai and is the founder an ...

(born 1975), Emirati geneticist and medical researcher *

Maryam Mirzakhani Maryam Mirzakhani (, ; 12 May 1977 – 14 July 2017) was an Iranian mathematician and a professor of mathematics at Stanford University. Her research topics included Teichmüller space, Teichmüller theory, hyperbolic geometry, ergodic the ...

(1977–2017), Iranian mathematician * Maryam Moghaddam (born c.1970), Iranian actress and filmmaker *

Maryam Monsef Maryam Monsef (, born Monsefzadeh; November 7, 1984) is an Afghan Canadian politician. She served as the member of Parliament for the riding of Peterborough—Kawartha from 2015 to 2021 as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. A membe ...

(born 1984), Afghan Canadian politician * Maryam Nemazee, Iranian British broadcast journalist *

Maryam Nawaz Sharif Maryam Nawaz Sharif (born 28 October 1973) is a Pakistani politician who has served as the 20th chief minister of Punjab since 26 February 2024. She is the first woman to hold the position of chief minister in Pakistan. Born to former Prime ...

(born 1973), Pakistani politician * Maryam Omar (born 1993), Kuwaiti-born Palestinian cricketer *

Maryam Rajavi Maryam Rajavi (, , ; born 4 December 1953) is an Iranian dissident politician and the leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), an organization advocating the overthrow of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iranian government ...

(born 1953), leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran *

Maryam Salour Maryam Salour (born 24 September 1954 in Tehran) is an Iranian sculpture, sculptor, ceramist and painter. She lives in Tehran, and previously lived in Paris. Early life and education After receiving high school diploma in Tehran, Iran, Salour mo ...

(born 1954), Iranian visual artist *

Maryam Shanechi Maryam M. Shanechi is an Iran-born American neuroengineer. She studies ways of decoding the brain's activity to control brain-machine interfaces. She was honored as one of MIT Technology Review's Innovators under 35 in 2014, one of the Science ...

, Iranian-American neuro engineers * Maryam Yakubova (1931–2018), Uzbek educator *

Maryam Zakaria Maryam Zakaria is an Iranian-born actress and model who works in Indian films. She has appeared in Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil language films. She is best known for her work in films such as '' Madatha Kaja'', ''Agent Vinod'' and ''Grand Masti''. ...

, Swedish-Iranian actress

Notable people with spelling variations of the name Maryam

* Myriem Akheddiou (born 1978), Belgian Moroccan actress * Mariam al-Asturlabi (), astrolabist in Aleppo during the Islamic Golden Age * Mariam A. Aleem (1930–2010), Egyptian artist and academic *

Mariam Ansari Mariam Ansari is a Pakistani actress. Personal life Ansari is married to Owais Khan, who is a son of former cricket captain Moin Khan Muhammad Moin Khan (; born 23 September 1971) is a Pakistani cricket administrator, coach, and former cr ...

, 21st century Pakistani film actress *

Marriyum Aurangzeb Marriyum Aurangzeb () is a Pakistani politician who currently serves as Senior Minister in the Government of Punjab, in office since March 2024. Previously, she was a Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan twice and served as the Federal ...

(born 1980), Pakistani politician *

Meriem Belmihoub Meriem Belmihoub-Zerdani (1 April 1935 – 27 July 2021) was an Algerian independence fighter, lawyer and feminist. Life As a student in the law faculty, in May 1956 Belmihoub became one of the first students to respond to the call of the Natio ...

(1935–2021), Algerian freedom fighter *

Mariem Ben Chaabane Mariem Ben Chaabane (, born July 30, 1983) is a Tunisian actress. She is especially known for her roles in the Tunisian series ''Casting'' and ''Machair''. Biography Meriam Ben Chaabane was born on July 30, 1983. In 2007 she graduated from t ...

(born 1983), Tunisian actress *

Meriam Ben Hussein Meriam Ben Hussein () is a Tunisian actress. Filmography Television series * 2012–2014 : ''Maktoub'' (seasons 3–4) by Sami Fehri : Malek * 2013 : ''Layem'' by Khaled Barsaoui * 2015 : ''Naouret El Hawa'' (seasons 2) by Madih Belaïd ...

, 21st century Tunisian actress *

Meriem Ben Mami Meriem Ben Mami () is a Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the n ...

(born 1980), Tunisian actress *

Meriem Bennani Meriem Bennani (born 1988) is a Moroccan artist currently based in New York City. Biography Bennani was born and raised in Rabat, Morocco. She earned a BFA from The Cooper Union in 2012, and an MFA from the École Nationale Supérieure des Ar ...

(born 1988), Moroccan animator *

Mariam Bolkvadze Mariam Bolkvadze ( ka, მარიამ ბოლქვაძე, tr, ; born 1 January 1998) is a tennis player from Georgia. On 7 March 2022, she achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 151, and on 21 March 2022, she peaked at No. ...

(born 1998), Georgian tennis player *

Mériem Bouatoura Meriem Bouattoura (17 January 1938 – 8 June 1960), nicknamed Yasmina, was a freedom fighter of the war of Algeria. She was born in N'Gaous (a wilaya of Batna) and died in Constantine, Algeria, Constantine. Biography Family and childhood ...

(1938–1960), Algerian militant during the war of independence *

Mariam Brahim Mariam Brahim is a Chadian physician. She worked as a professor and Pediatrics, pediatrician at the University of N'Djamena. Educated in the Soviet Union, she graduated from a medical school in Leningrad in 1983 and earned her doctorate from the R ...

, (born 1956), Chadian physician * Mariam Sy Diawara, 21st century Ivorian and Canadian businesswoman *

Mariam Mamadashvili Mariam Mamadashvili ( ka, მარიამ მამადაშვილი, born 16 November 2005) is a Georgian singer. She won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016 where she represented Georgia with the song " Mzeo". She moved to the U ...

(born 2005), Georgian singer *

Myriam Mizouni Myriam Mizouni (; born 23 September 1958) is a Tunisian former swimmer. She competed in two events at the 1976 Summer Olympics. She was the first woman to represent Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the M ...

(born 1958), Tunisian swimmer *

Mariam Mirza Mariam Mirza is a Pakistani television actress, beautician and former banker. She is known for her role as Nasreen (Zubia's mother) in '' Khamoshi'' which ranked among the highest rated Urdu drama serials of 2017. She is also known for her role a ...

(born 1975), Pakistani television actress and beautician *

Meriem Moussa Meriem Moussa (; born 11 May 1988) is an Algerian judoka, who played for the extra-lightweight category. Career Moussa was a four-time medalist at the African Judo Championships, African Championships, and a gold medalist at the Judo at the 200 ...

(born 1988), Algerian judoka *

Marium Mukhtiar Marium Mukhtiar (May 19, 1992 November 24, 2015) was a Pakistani fighter pilot. She died flying a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) FT-7PG aircraft that crashed near Kundian in Mianwali District, northwestern Punjab, Pakistan on November 24, 2015. She wa ...

(1992–2015), Pakistan Air Force pilot *

Myriem Nacer Myriem Nacer (; born 15 February 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Seconde Ligue club RC Lens. Born in France, she represents the Algeria national team. Club career On 20 June 2024, Lens announced Nacer's depart ...

(born 2002), Algerian footballer *

Mariyam Nafees Mariyam Nafees () is a Pakistani television actress. She made her television debut in Hum TV's ''Diyar-e-Dil'' as Zarminey and later appeared as Tabinda in '' Kuch Na Kaho''. Career Mariyam started her career in ''Diyar-e-Dil'' alongside Osman ...

(born 1994), Pakistani television actress *

Mariam Shengelia Mariam Shengelia (; born 14 May 2002) is a Georgian singer. She represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with the song "Freedom (Mariam Shengelia song), Freedom". Shengelia is a member of the Georgian muscal group Mix2ura. Early life ...

(born 2002), Georgian singer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maryam (Name) Arabic-language feminine given names Feminine given names Bosnian feminine given names Lebanese feminine given names Pakistani feminine given names Aramaic-language names Coptic given names