Meaning of the nameMiriam

Miriam is a biblical female name, from Hebrew Miryam, whose meaning has been debated for centuries and is not known for certain.

Meaning

The meaning of Miriam is not known for certain. No reliable source documents it, so we give none; below are the origin of the spelling and the official figures.

People (2022): 74,005
Rank in Brazil: #410
Median age: 45 years
2010 Census: 71,032; people

Miriam in the 2022 Census

People with the first name Miriam, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in the 1980s (15,378 people).

73,664 women 341 men

Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census, Nomes no Brasil. The census counts the first name of people alive in 2022; small counts are not published, and the first group covers everyone born before 1940. How to read these data.

Where the name Miriam is most common

States with the highest share of people named Miriam in the population, in the 2022 Census.

All states

State	People	% of population
São Paulo	22,404	0.050%
Rio de Janeiro	8,763	0.055%
Minas Gerais	7,496	0.037%
Rio Grande do Sul	5,089	0.047%
Pernambuco	4,198	0.046%
Paraná	3,908	0.034%
Bahia	3,491	0.025%
Santa Catarina	2,838	0.037%
Goiás	1,877	0.027%
Pará	1,631	0.020%
Espírito Santo	1,339	0.035%
Maranhão	1,226	0.018%
Amazonas	1,089	0.028%
Distrito Federal	1,044	0.037%
Paraíba	976	0.025%
Mato Grosso do Sul	973	0.035%
Ceará	965	0.011%
Mato Grosso	961	0.026%
Rio Grande do Norte	923	0.028%
Alagoas	644	0.021%
Rondônia	551	0.035%
Sergipe	511	0.023%
Piauí	463	0.014%
Tocantins	291	0.019%
Roraima	148	0.023%
Acre	106	0.013%
Amapá	100	0.014%

States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.

About the name Miriam

Wiktionary lists Miriam in Portuguese as a loanword from Hebrew מִרְיָם and a doublet of Maria, with the alternative forms Míriam, Miriã and Míriã. According to the English entry, the meaning has been debated for centuries: the name perhaps comes from Aramaic Maryām, 'bitter', but another explanation links it to the idea of rebellion. Behind the Name gives it as a form of Maria used in the Old Testament, where she is the older sister of Moses and Aaron, and marks the etymology as uncertain. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 74,005 people named Miriam, with a median age of 45; proportionally, the name is most common in Rio de Janeiro.

This is the spelling without an accent and the most recorded in the group. Wiktionary also lists the accented form Míriam.

Other spellings of Miriam

Spelling	People (2022)
Miriam	74,005
Myriam	1,339

Sources

Wiktionary: Miriam · en.wiktionary.org · origin
Behind the Name: Miriam · behindthename.com · origin
Wiktionary: Myriam · en.wiktionary.org · spelling

Questions about the name Miriam

What does the name Miriam mean?

The meaning of Miriam is not known for certain: no reliable source documents it. So we give no meaning; the page shows the origin of the spelling and the official figures.

How many people are named Miriam in Brazil?

IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 74,005 people with the first name Miriam, which ranks it number 410 among the country's names. The largest group was born in the 1980s.

Is Miriam a boy's or a girl's name?

Miriam is a female name: in the 2022 Census, 73,664 women and 341 men had this name.

What is the origin of the name Miriam?

Miriam is a name of Hebrew origin. The sources are listed at the end of the page.

In which Brazilian state is Miriam most common?

Proportionally, in Rio de Janeiro: 0.055% of the state's population is named Miriam (8,763 people), according to the 2022 Census.

What are the other spellings of Miriam?

Myriam. IBGE counts each spelling separately.

More names of Hebrew origin

See all

Spotted a mistake? Report a correction for Miriam with a source. See the methodology.