Miriam
Origin of the name Miriam:
Hebrew name of debated meaning. Many believe it to mean "sea of bitterness" or "sea of sorrow." However, some sources cite the alternative definitions of "rebellion," "wished-for child," and "mistress or lady of the sea." The name is borne in the Bible by the sister of Moses and Aaron. After the Exodus, she came to be known as a prophetess to the people.
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Reader Contributions
Contribute to, or edit, this collection of community wisdom on the name Miriam!
- Comments and insights on the name Miriam: | Edit
This is my 2 year old niece's name. We call her Miri.
Miriam is my given name...as a young child I didn't have any Miriam-related nicknames, just the cutsie names your family calls you that don't count....but once I was in middle school my friends turned it into Miriyum, yum, yum yum, yummy and I had a friend that called me Mimi for a semester. None of those stuck - thankfully. Now at 32 - just Miriam. I wish I had known about Miri though. I like it :) is it too late for a nickname to catch on? ;)
- Personal experiences with the name Miriam: | Edit
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- Nicknames for Miriam: | Edit
Mira, Mimi, Miri, Mim
- Meanings and history of the name Miriam: | Edit
My name is Miriam and I have always heard "sea of bitterness"....ugh! I hated that. But then I heard "songbird" because apparently, before Miriam let Moses float away in the Nile, she sang to her little baby brother to comfort him. I like thay way better!!
- Famous real-life people named Miriam: | Edit
Miriam, the sister of Moses
Miriam (born c. 1981), Mexican transwoman who starred in There's Something About Miriam
Miriam Flynn (born 1952), American voice artist and character actress
Miriam Gallardo (born 1968), Peruvian volleyball player
Miriam Gonzalez (born 1977), Playboy playmate
Miriam Leslie (1828-1914), American author, publisher, woman suffrage advocate, and philanthropist
Miriam McDonald (born 1987) Canadian actress, and a star of Degrassi: The Next Generation
Miriam Makeba (born 1932), South African singer and activist
Miriam Margolyes (born 1941), a British actress
Miriam Ramón (born 1973), Ecuadorian racewalker
Miriam Shaviv (born 1976), literary editor of the Jerusalem Post
Miriam Stockley (born 1962), English South African-born singer
Miriam Stoppard (born 1937), British physician, author, television presenter, and agony aunt
Miriam Toews (born 1964), Canadian author
Miriam Yeung (born 1974), Hong Kong singer-actress
Miriam Defensor Santiago (born 1945),Senator in the Philippines- Miriam in song, story & screen: | Edit
Miriam ben Mordecai in The Roman Mysteries
Miriam Blaylock in 1983 movie The Hunger
Miriam Leveirs in D.H. Lawrence's novel Sons and Lovers
Miriam as sister of Moses in The Bible
NameVoyager US Popularity of Miriam Over Time
NameMapper Current Popularity of Miriam by State
Global Popularity of the Name Miriam
- #42 in Austria
- #44 in Spain
- #114 in Norway
- #309 in United States
- #379 in Canada (Quebec)
- #416 in Scotland
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