Maryah
Of Arabic origin, meaning "bitter" or "rebellious".
Name Census estimates that about 2,134 living Americans carry the first name Maryah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Maryah today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maryah births was 2008 (123 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maryah. 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
2.1K
~ 1 in 160,616 Americans
Peak year
2008
123 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,533
Tracked since 1974
Popularity
Maryah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maryah from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 806 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maryah 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 Maryah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maryahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Maryah, while Virginia, New York, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 45 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maryah
The name Maryah is a feminine given name that has its origins in the Arabic language. It is a variant spelling of the name Maria, which is the Latin form of the Hebrew name Miriam. The name Miriam is derived from the ancient Hebrew root "mr" meaning "bitter" or "beloved," with the added possessive suffix "am" meaning "their."
In the Old Testament, Miriam was the name of the sister of Moses and Aaron, who played a significant role in the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. This biblical association has contributed to the widespread use of the name Maryah and its variants across various cultures and religions.
The name Maryah gained popularity during the spread of Islam and the Arabic language throughout the Middle East and North Africa. It became a common name among Muslim communities, and its usage extended to other regions as well.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Maryah can be found in the 9th century, when Maryah al-Qibtiyyah, also known as Maria the Copt, was a prominent figure in the Abbasid court during the reign of Caliph Al-Mu'tasim. She was a skilled poet and musician who significantly influenced the cultural life of the time.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Maryah. In the 12th century, Maryah al-Astrabadi was a renowned Persian poet and philosopher who composed works in Arabic and Persian. In the 19th century, Maryah al-Majdubah was a Sudanese spiritual leader and Sufi mystic who gained a significant following in Sudan and Egypt.
Other notable figures with the name Maryah include Maryah al-Malika, a 13th-century Queen of Yemen, and Maryah al-Qibtiyyah, a 9th-century Egyptian princess and wife of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mu'tazz. Additionally, Maryah al-Muqri, a 17th-century Moroccan scholar and writer, made significant contributions to the study of Islamic jurisprudence and theology.
While the name Maryah has its roots in the Arabic language and Muslim culture, it has transcended these boundaries and has been embraced by various communities worldwide, reflecting the rich diversity and cross-cultural influences that have shaped the history of names.
People
Maryah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maryah 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
Maryah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maryah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,134 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maryah 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 160,616 US residents.
Is Maryah a common name?
We classify Maryah as "Rare". It ranks above 94% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,172 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maryah most popular?
The single biggest year for Maryah was 2008, when 123 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maryah is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Maryah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maryah 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.