Female given name
Miriam (Hebrew :מִרְיָם Modern :Mīryam Tiberian :Mīryām Biblical Hebrew in theBook of Exodus as the name of the sister ofMoses , theprophetess Miriam .[ 1]
Spelling variants include FrenchMyriam , GermanMirjam, Mirijam ; hypocoristic forms includeMira , Miri and Mimi (commonly givenin Israel ).[ 2]
The name's etymology is unclear. Since manyLevite names are ofEgyptian origin, the name could come from the Egyptianmr "love", as in the Egyptian namesmry.t-jmn (Merit-Amun)Amun " andmry.t-rꜥ (Merytre)Ra ".[ 3]
An older Grecian pronunciation of this name,Maryām Greek Old Testament (3rd century BCE) and in theNew Testament manuscripts as the name of several women, includingMary, mother of Jesus andMary Magdalene . Variants of this name include Greek and LatinMaria Marie and EnglishMary
"Miriam" is a common female name in countries that speakEnglish ,French ,Spanish ,Portuguese ,German andDutch as well as amongAshkenazi Jews . It is also fairly common inScandinavian countries,Italy ,Romania ,Hungary ,Poland , theCzech Republic ,Slovakia ,Slovenia andCroatia .
Mary , mother of theJesus of the New Testament, bore aJudeo-Aramaic variant of this name,Maryām (מרים). In theNew Testament of the Bible, written inGreek , her name is transliteratedMariam (Μαριάμ) orMaria .Several other women in the New Testament, includingSt. Mary Magdalene , are called by the same name.
In antiquity, it was variously etymologized as "rebellion", "bitter sea", "strong waters", "exalted one", "ruling one", "wished for child", or "beautiful".[ 3]
St. Jerome (writing c. 390), followingEusebius of Caesarea , translates the name as "drop of the sea" (stilla maris inLatin ), from Hebrew מרmar "drop" (cf. Isaias 40:15) and יםyam "sea". This translation was subsequently renderedstella maris ("star of the sea") due toscribal error or as a result of3rd century vowel shifts , from which comesthe Virgin Mary 's titleStar of the Sea .[ 3]
Alternatively, the name can be interpreted "star of the sea" if taken as a contracted form of the Hebrew מאורma'or "star" (lit. "luminary") plus יםyam "sea", yet this "strikes as a very free interpretation".[ 4]
Rashi , 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.[ 5]
Because of Mary's great religious significance, variants of her name are often given to girl children in both the Western and Arab worlds. In theQuran , Mary's name assumed theArabic formMaryam Maria passed intoLatin and from thence into many modern European languages.
Biblical and apocryphal figures [ edit ] Miriam , the sister of MosesWoman with seven sons , Jewish martyr described in 2 Maccabees 7, named inLamentations Rabbah Mariam (Mary), the mother of Yeshua (Jesus) Mariam (Mary) of Magdala Mariam, wife of Clopas Mariam, sister of Jesus (that’s probably her name) People named Miriam [ edit ] Mary the Jewess , also known as Miriam the Prophetess, an early alchemist believed to have lived some time between the first and third centuries ADMiriam , daughter ofRashi Miriam, Princess of Turnovo (born 1963), Spanish jewellery designerMiriam Barnes (born 1983), American hurdler and sprinterMiriam Ben-Porat (1918–2012), Israeli judge and state comptrollerMiriam Blanchard , Dominican politicianMiriam Esther Brailey (1900–1976), American physicianMiriam Brouwer (born 1991), Canadian cyclistMiriam Butterworth (1918–2019), American educator, politician, and activistMiriam Cani (born 1985), Albanian singerMiriam Caracciolo di Melito (1888-1966), American socialite and Italian countessE. Miriam Coyrière (fl. 1880 ), American businesswoman Miriam Daly (1928–1980), Irish civil rights activist andrepublican leaderMiriam Dean , New Zealand Queen's CounselMiriam Dominikowska (born 2001), Polish para athleteMiriam Howard Dubose (1862–1945), American suffragistMiriam Flynn (born 1952), American voice artist and character actressMiriam Gallardo (born 1968), Peruvian volleyball playerMiriam Goldberg (1916–2017), American newspaper publisher and editorMiriam Gonzalez (born 1977),Playboy playmateMiriam González Durántez (born 1968), Spanish international trade lawyer and wife of former Deputy Prime Minister of the United KingdomNick Clegg Miriam Ezagui , American nurse and TikTokerMiriam Hodgson (1938–2005), British editor of children's booksMirjam Indermaur (born 1967), Swiss authorMiriam Israeli (born 1966), American-Israeli singer and lyricistMiriam Kara (born 1938), Israeli Olympic gymnastMiriam Kochan (1929–2018), English writer and translatorMiriam Leone (born 1985), Miss Italia 2008Miriam Leslie (1828–1914), American author, publisher, woman suffrage advocate, and philanthropistMiriam Lexmann (born 1972), Slovak politicianMiriam Makeba (1932–2008), South African singer and activistMiriam Margolyes (born 1941), British actressMiriam McDonald (born 1987), Canadian actress, star ofDegrassi: The Next Generation Miriam Miranda , Honduran human rights activistMiriam Moses (1884–1965), British politicianMiriam O'Callaghan (media personality) (born 1960), Irish television presenterMiriam Pirazzini (1918–2016), Italian singerMirjam Pressler (1940–2019), German novelist and translatorMiriam Quiambao (born 1975), Filipino entertainer and beauty pageant titleholderMiriam Ramón (born 1973), Ecuadorian racewalkerMiriam Saphira , New Zealand lesbian activist and psychologistMiriam Soledad Raudez Rodríguez , Nicaraguan politicianMiriam Roth (1910–2005), Israeli educationistMiriam Defensor Santiago (1945–2016), Senator in the PhilippinesMiriam Shaviv (born 1976), literary editor of theJerusalem Post Miriam Siderenski (born 1941), Israeli Olympic runnerMiriam Soares (born 1965), Brazilian footballerMiriam Stockley (born 1962), English South African-born singerMiriam Stoppard (born 1937), British physician, author, television presenter, and agony auntMiriam Syowia Kyambi (born 1979), Kenyan artistMiriam Timothy (1879–1950), British harpistMiriam Toews (born 1964), Canadian authorMiriam Beizana Vigo (born 1990), Spanish writer and literary criticMiriam Weeks (born 1995), pseudonym Belle Knox, American former pornographic actressMiriam Yalan-Shteklis (1900–1984), Israeli writer and poetMiriam Zetter (born 1989), Mexican ten-pin bowlerPeople named Myriam [ edit ] The lettery in thetransliteration Miryam represents thepalatal glide /j/.Themetathesized spellingMyriam has also gained some currency,[year needed especiallyin France , alongsideMiriam andMiryam .
The name of Israeli or Lebanese people called "Miriam" may be transliteratedMiryam orMyriam depending on whether the context of the transliteration is French or English.
Myriam Abel or Myriam Morea (born 1981), French singer of Algerian descentMyriam Baverel (born 1981), French martial artistMyriam Bédard (born 1969), retired Canadian athleteMyriam Bru (born 1930), French actressMyriam Birger (born 1951), French pianistMyriam Boileau (born 1977), Canadian diverMyriam Berthé (born 1967), Senegalese tennis playerMyriam Casanova (born 1985), Swiss tennis playerMyriam Charpentier , British molecular biologistMyriam Montemayor Cruz (born 1981), Mexican pop star known as "Myriam"Myriam Fares (born 1983), Lebanese singerMyriam Fox-Jerusalmi (born 1961), French canoeistMyriam Glez (born 1980), French swimmerMyriam Hernández (born 1967), Chilean singer-songwriter and television presenterMyriam Korfanty (born 1978), French handball playerMyriam Lignot (born 1975), French synchronized swimmerMyriam Léonie Mani (born 1977), Cameroonian athleteMyriam Marbe (1931–1997), Romanian composer and pianistMyriam Merlet (c. 1957–2010), Haitian political activistMyriam Moscona (born 1955), Mexican journalistMyriam Muller (born 1971), Luxembourgian actressMyriam Palacios (1936–2013), Chilean actress and comedianMyriam Sarachik (1933–2021), Belgian physicistMyriam Shehab (born 1982), Lebanese singerMyriam Sienra (1939–2020), Paraguayan actressMyriam Sirois (born 1975), Canadian actressMyriam Soumaré (born 1986), French athleteMyriam Vanlerberghe (born 1961), Belgian politicianMyriam Verreault , Canadian film director and screenwriterMyriam Yardeni (1932–2015), Romanian-born Israeli historianFictional characters [ edit ] Miriam, a main character in Nathaniel Hawthorne's novelThe Marble Faun Miriam Rooth in Henry James's novelThe Tragic Muse Miriam Leveirs in D.H. Lawrence's novelSons and Lovers Miriam, the title character (or characters) of Truman Capote'seponymous short story , his first widely acclaimed fictional work from 1949 Miriam Blaylock in the 1983 filmThe Hunger Miriam Deering, inHush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte Miriam Godwinson, a faction leader in the video gameSid Meier's Alpha Centauri Miriam Haywood, a.k.a. Atsuko Senoo, in the anime/manga seriesOjamajo Doremi Miriam inThe Thieves of Ostia Miriam Pataki in the cartoonHey Arnold! Miriam, the fictional protagonist ofBloodstained: Ritual of the Night Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon Miriam , a.k.a. Queen Marion, in the Italian animated seriesWinx Club Myriam Scuttlebutt in the video gamePhoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Dual Destinies [importance? Miriam “Midge” Maisel, the titular character in the TV seriesThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Miriam Mendelsohn, a character inDisney /Pixar 's 2022 animated filmTurning Red Miramir, a minorStar Wars character who is the mother ofRey Miriam Jacobs is a one-off character inPhilip Pullman 'sThe Secret Commonwealth Miriam is the school nurse inPokemon Scarlet and Violet
^ What's in a Name? 25 Jewish Stories (in German, English, and French). Biel: Jewish Museum of Switzerland. 2022.ISBN 978-3-907262-34-4 ^ Dan Isaac Slobin,The Crosslinguistic Study of Language Acquisition ^a b c "Though the meaning of Mary as derived from the Egyptian Mery, Meryt (cherished, beloved), is most suitable for an only daughter, such a derivation is only possible, or at best barely probable."A. Maas,"The Name of Mary" ,The Catholic Encyclopedia ^ "Jerome (4th century AD) suggested relations with the word מאור (ma'or ), meaning star, from the verb אור ('or ), to be light or shine. Combined with the word ימ (yam ), sea, the name Miriam would translate toStella Maris (star of the sea), but that strikes as a very free interpretation.","Meaning, origin and etymology of the name Miriam" ,Abarim Publications ^ Rashi."Commentary on Shir Hashirim (Song of Songs)" . p. 2:13. Name list
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