Marriah
A feminine name of Hebrew and Christian origin meaning "bitter" or "beloved lady".
Name Census estimates that about 682 living Americans carry the first name Marriah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marriah today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marriah births was 1995 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marriah. 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
682
~ 1 in 502,572 Americans
Peak year
1995
49 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2021 SSA rank
#16,827
Tracked since 1974
Census
Marriah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 647 people with the first name Marriah, which placed it at #17,179 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#17,179
National first-name rank
People counted
647
647 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
44.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marriah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marriah is White at 44.2%. The next largest groups are Black (24.1%) and Hispanic (18.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Marriah described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Marriah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White44.2% · 286
- Black or African American24.1% · 156
- Hispanic or Latino18.1% · 117
- Two or more races10.2% · 66
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 7
Popularity
Marriah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marriah from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 314 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
Marriah 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 Marriah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marriahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Marriah, while Washington, Pennsylvania, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marriah
The name Marriah is believed to have originated from the Hebrew language, with its roots tracing back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew word "mar'ah," which means "bitter" or "rebellious." This name was given to children as a symbolic representation of strength and resilience in the face of adversity.
In the Old Testament, there are references to a woman named Mara, which is closely related to the name Marriah. Mara was the name given to Naomi by her daughters-in-law after she experienced great sorrows and hardships in her life. This biblical connection highlights the name's association with perseverance and overcoming challenges.
The earliest recorded use of the name Marriah can be traced back to the 12th century in certain regions of the Middle East. During this period, the name gained popularity among Jewish communities and was later adopted by other cultures as well.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Marriah. One of the most famous was Marriah al-Qibtiyyah (1105-1187), an Egyptian scholar and poet renowned for her contributions to Arabic literature. Another prominent figure was Marriah ibn Abi al-Fath (1210-1279), a renowned Islamic philosopher and theologian from Persia.
In the 16th century, Marriah de la Esperanza (1520-1588) was a Spanish nun and mystic known for her spiritual writings and devotion to the Virgin Mary. During the same period, Marriah al-Samarkandi (1535-1602) was a celebrated Persian mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of geometry.
More recently, Marriah Batool (1920-2005) was a Pakistani educator and social activist who dedicated her life to empowering women and promoting literacy in her country.
While the name Marriah has roots in ancient languages and cultures, it has transcended its origins and gained popularity in various parts of the world, often carrying the symbolism of strength, resilience, and perseverance.
People
Marriah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marriah 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
Marriah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marriah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 682 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marriah 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 502,572 US residents.
Is Marriah a common name?
We classify Marriah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 702 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marriah most popular?
The single biggest year for Marriah was 1995, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marriah is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marriah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 647 people with the name Marriah, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,179 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Marriah in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Marriah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marriah appears almost entirely female. Of the 642 people counted with this name, 99.2% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Marriah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marriah is White at 44.2%. The next largest groups are Black (24.1%) and Hispanic (18.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Marriah most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Marriah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.2% (286 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Marriah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marriah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marriah 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.
Is Marriah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marriah in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Marriah can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people have the name Marriah?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.