Mariha
A feminine name of Persian origin meaning "prosperous" or "luminous".
Name Census estimates that about 330 living Americans carry the first name Mariha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mariha today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mariha births was 1991 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mariha. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
330
~ 1 in 1,038,650 Americans
Peak year
1991
26 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2015 SSA rank
#18,179
Tracked since 1978
Popularity
Mariha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mariha from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 180 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mariha by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Mariha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marihas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Mariha
The name Mariha finds its roots in the ancient Sumerian language, which flourished in Mesopotamia around 3500-3000 BCE. It is derived from the Sumerian words "mar" meaning "to be high" and "iha" meaning "woman," suggesting the name's meaning is "high woman" or "exalted woman."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mariha can be found in cuneiform inscriptions from the ancient Sumerian city-state of Lagash, dating back to the 24th century BCE. These inscriptions mention a priestess named Mariha, who served in the temple of the goddess Inanna.
In the 13th century BCE, the name Mariha appeared in the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest surviving works of literature. The epic mentions a woman named Mariha, who was a wise and influential figure in the court of King Gilgamesh.
During the Babylonian period, around the 6th century BCE, the name Mariha was associated with the goddess Ishtar, who was the Babylonian counterpart of the Sumerian goddess Inanna. Ishtar was revered as the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, and her devotees often bore names related to her worship.
In the 1st century CE, a Jewish scholar named Mariha ben Sira was known for his teachings on ethics and wisdom. He authored the Book of Sirach, which is included in the Apocrypha of the Bible.
In the 5th century CE, a Christian theologian named Mariha of Nisibis made significant contributions to the development of Syriac literature and played a crucial role in the spread of Christianity in the region of Mesopotamia.
Around the 8th century CE, a renowned poet named Mariha al-Qurashi lived in Medina, Saudi Arabia, and was celebrated for her beautiful and thought-provoking verses on love, spirituality, and the human condition.
In the 12th century, a Sufi mystic and scholar named Mariha al-Basri gained recognition for her profound spiritual teachings and her influence on the Islamic mystical tradition.
During the 14th century, a prominent physician and philosopher named Mariha al-Andalusi lived in Andalusia, Spain, and made significant contributions to the fields of medicine and philosophy, particularly in the areas of pharmacology and ethics.
People
Mariha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mariha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Mariha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mariha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 330 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mariha going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,038,650 US residents.
Is Mariha a common name?
We classify Mariha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 339 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mariha most popular?
The single biggest year for Mariha was 1991, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mariha is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Mariha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mariha in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.