Maryam or Mariam is the

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

form of the biblical name

Miriam Miriam ( he, מִרְיָם ''Mīryām'', 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 Tor ...

(the name of the prophetess

, the sister of

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

). It is notably the name of

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

the mother of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

. The spelling in the

Semitic abjad An abjad (, ar, أبجد; also abgad) is a writing system in which only consonants are represented, leaving vowel sounds to be inferred by the reader. This contrasts with other alphabets, which provide graphemes for both consonants and vowels ...

s is ''mrym'' (Hebrew מרים, Aramaic ܡܪܝܡ, Arabic مريم), which may be transliterated in a number of ways (''Miryam, Miriyam, Mirijam, Marium, Maryam, Mariyam, Marijam, Meryem, Merjeme'', etc.) Via its use in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

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 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

, but also in

Eastern Christianity Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...

, in

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

, and

in Islam IN, In or in may refer to: Places * 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 * Independ ...

. In

Latin Christianity , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

, the Greek form ''Mariam'' was adopted as latinate

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

(whence French

Marie Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in Tr ...

and English

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

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

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 across the ...

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

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 ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...

Tigrinya (; also spelled Tigrigna) is an Ethio-Semitic language commonly spoken Eritrea and in northern Ethiopia's Tigray Region by the Tigrinya and Tigrayan peoples. It is also spoken by the global diaspora of these regions. History and literature ...

, and Somali,

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

and Azerbaijani '' Məryəm'' and in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

as ''Mariyam'' in south

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Etymology

The name may have originated from the

Egyptian language The Egyptian language or Ancient Egyptian ( ) is a dead language, dead Afroasiatic languages, Afro-Asiatic language that was spoken in ancient Egypt. It is known today from a large Text corpus, corpus of surviving texts which were made acces ...

; 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 Encyclopedia'') i ...

'' (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 (; also ''Amon'', ''Ammon'', ''Amen''; egy, jmn, reconstructed as (Old Egyptian and early Middle Egyptian) → (later Middle Egyptian) → (Late Egyptian), cop, Ⲁⲙⲟⲩⲛ, Amoun) romanized: ʾmn) was a major ancient Egyptian ...

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

Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he posse ...

". 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 no ...

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

myrrh Myrrh (; from Semitic, but see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus ''Commiphora''. Myrrh resin has been used throughout history as a perfume, incense and medicine. Myrrh mi ...

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

St. Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is comm ...

(writing c. 390), following

Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christia ...

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

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

), 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 mistake) made in the typing of printed (or electronic) material. Historically, this referred to mistakes in manual type-setting (typography). ...

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

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...

, 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 ...

, 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 (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels us ...

uses the

first declension The first declension is a category of declension that consists of mostly 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 case-ending). In Greek grammar, it is also call ...

, ''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

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 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 ( gez, ንዋየ ማርያም; 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 ...

'' "Property of Mary" or ''

Takla Maryam Takla Maryam ( gez, ተክለ ማርያም), throne name Hezbe Nañ ( gez, ሕዝበ ናኝ) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1430 to 1433, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the second son of Dawit I. Manoel de Almeida remarks that the de ...

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

Marwan Marwan, Merwan or Mervan ( ar, مروان ''marwān''), is an Arabic male given name derived from the word ''marū/ maruw'' (مرو) with the meaning of either minerals, "flint(-stone)", "quartz" or "a hard stone of nearly pure silica". However, ...

, meaning "one who is fragrant like myrrh", could be the masculine form of Maryam.

Ustad Ali Maryam Ustad Ali Maryam ( fa, استاد علی مریم) was a famous mimar of 19th century Persia. He is famous for designing three edifices in particular, all in Kashan: * The Borujerdi-ha House (1857) * The Tabatabaei House (1840s)

, 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 1949) is the widow of Sani Abacha, Nigeria's military ruler from 1993 to 1998. After the death of her husband, Maryam was caught while attempting to leave Nigeria with 38 suitcases filled with cash. In 1999, Maryam A ...

(born 1945), widow of Sani Abacha, ''de facto'' President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998 *

Maryam Babangida Maryam Babangida (1 November 1948 – 27 December 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. She ...

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

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

(born 1960), English film and television actress *

Maryam Fatima Maryam Fatima ( ur, ) is a Pakistani Model and Television Drama Actress. She made her acting debut in January 2016 with a leading role in Hum TV drama serial ''Lagao'' alongside Zainab Qayyum and Adnan Jaffar. She has played the lead role of Uja ...

, Pakistani actress *

Maryam Khan Maryam Khan (born 1988) is a Pakistan-born American politician who has been a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives since winning a special election to the 5th House District of Windsor and Hartford in 2022. She is the first Muslim e ...

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

(1977–2017), Iranian mathematician *

Maryam Monsef Maryam Monsef ( fa, مریم منصف) (born Monsefzadeh; November 7, 1984) is an Afghan Canadian former politician. She first was elected to represent the riding of Peterborough—Kawartha as a Liberal member the House of Commons of Canada ...

(born 1984), Afghan Canadian politician *

Maryam Nemazee Maryam Nemazee ( fa, مریم نمازی) is an Iranian British broadcast journalist, currently working with Al Jazeera English. Career Al Jazeera English - London At Al Jazeera English, Nemazee is based at the European broadcast-centre, in Lo ...

, Iranian British broadcast journalist * Maryam Nawaz Sharif (born 1973), Pakistani politician *

Maryam Omar Maryam Osama Khalil Omar (born 8 March 1993) is an engineer and cricketer who plays for the Kuwait women's national cricket team as a right handed batting all-rounder. She has also captained the team. Born and raised in Kuwait, Omar is Palesti ...

(born 1993), Kuwaiti-born Palestinian cricketer *

Maryam Rajavi Maryam Rajavi ( fa, مریم رجوی, , fa, مریم قجر عضدانلو) is a leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), an organization advocating for the overthrow of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iranian governmen ...

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

Maryam Salour Maryam Salour (born 24 September 1954 in Tehran) is an Iranian 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 moved to Lond ...

(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 and one of the Sci ...

, Iranian-American neuroengineer * Maryam Yakubova (born 1931), Uzbek educator *

Maryam Zakaria Maryam Zakaria is an Iranian-born Swedish 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 ''Gran ...

, Swedish-Iranian actress * Maryam Tanveer Ali, popularly known as

Maya Ali Maryam Tanveer, known by her stage name Maya Ali ( ur, ; born ), is a Pakistani actress. She made her debut with a brief role in telenovela ''Durr-e-Shehwar'' and later received praise for portraying the titular characters in ''Aik Nayee Cin ...

, Pakistani television actress *

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 Un ...

Winner of

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016 was the fourteenth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, which took place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, in Valletta, Malta. This was the second time that Malta have hosted the Juni ...

Notable people with spelling variations of the name Maryam

Mariam A. Aleem Mariam A. Aleem (28 December 1930 – 26 April 2010) was an Egyptian artist and art professor specializing in printed design. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the Faculty of Fine Arts Cairo in 1954 and her Master of Fine Arts in graphic pr ...

(1930–2010), Egyptian artist and academic * Mariam Ansari, Pakistani film actress *

Marriyum Aurangzeb Marriyum Aurangzeb ( ur, ) is a Pakistani politician from Pakistan Muslim League (N) who is a member of the National Assembly. She is current federal minister of Information & Broadcasting in Shehbaz Sharif ministry. Aurangzeb served as the ...

, Pakistani politician * Mariam Brahim (born 1956), Chadian physician *

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 as ...

, Pakistani television actress and beautician *

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 ...

, a

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

pilot who died in fighter jet crash *

Mariyam Nafees Mariyam Nafees ( ur, ) 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''. her husband name Career Mariyam started her career in ''Diyar-e-D ...

, Pakistani television actress

References

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