Miria
A feminine name of Greek origin, possibly derived from "myrrh", meaning a fragrant resin.
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the first name Miria. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Miria today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Miria births was 1981 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Miria. 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
119
~ 1 in 2,880,289 Americans
Peak year
1981
11 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,852
Tracked since 1967
Census
Miria in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 649 people with the first name Miria, which placed it at #17,134 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
#17,134
National first-name rank
People counted
649
649 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
57.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Miria
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Miria is Hispanic at 57.0%. The next largest groups are White (28.8%) and Black (6.6%). 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 Miria 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 Miria at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino57.0% · 370
- White28.8% · 187
- Black or African American6.6% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.9% · 25
- Two or more races3.2% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 3
Popularity
Miria: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Miria from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 41 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Miria 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 Miria during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Miria
The name Miria has its origins in ancient Greek culture, derived from the word 'myria', which means 'countless' or 'innumerable'. It is believed to have first emerged as a feminine name during the Hellenistic period, which spanned from the 4th century BCE to the 1st century BCE.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Miria can be found in the works of the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, who lived in the 1st century BCE. In his writings, he mentions a woman named Miria, though little is known about her life or significance.
In the 3rd century CE, a Christian martyr named Miria is said to have been executed for her faith during the reign of the Roman Emperor Decius. She is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and her feast day is celebrated on November 24th.
During the Byzantine period, which lasted from the 4th to the 15th century CE, the name Miria gained popularity among the Greek-speaking population of the Eastern Roman Empire. One notable figure was Miria of Ephesus, a nun and abbess who lived in the 7th century CE and was renowned for her piety and wisdom.
In the 12th century CE, a noblewoman named Miria Comnena was a prominent figure in the Byzantine court. She was the daughter of the Emperor Andronicus I Comnenus and played a significant role in the political intrigues of the time.
Another notable figure was Miria Kantakouzene, who lived in the 14th century CE. She was a Byzantine princess and the daughter of the Emperor John VI Cantacuzenus. Miria was known for her intelligence and literary talents, and she wrote several works on religious and philosophical topics.
During the Renaissance period, a few women named Miria made their mark in various fields. Miria Sibylla Merian, born in 1647 in Frankfurt, Germany, was a renowned naturalist and scientific illustrator, best known for her detailed illustrations of plants and insects.
Miria Gisela Agnesi, born in 1718 in Milan, Italy, was a mathematician, philosopher, and theologian. She is credited with writing the first book on calculus published in the Italian language and made significant contributions to the field of mathematics.
As the name spread across different cultures and regions, its spelling and pronunciation may have evolved, leading to variations such as Myriah, Myria, or Meria. However, the core meaning and significance of the name Miria remained rooted in its ancient Greek origins, symbolizing innumerability and the boundless potential of the human spirit.
People
Miria + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Miria 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
Miria: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Miria?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 119 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Miria 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 2,880,289 US residents.
Is Miria a common name?
We classify Miria as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 124 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Miria most popular?
The single biggest year for Miria was 1981, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Miria is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Miria in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 649 people with the name Miria, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,134 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 Miria 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 Miria?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Miria appears almost entirely female. Of the 649 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Miria?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Miria is Hispanic at 57.0%. The next largest groups are White (28.8%) and Black (6.6%). 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 Miria most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Miria in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.0% (370 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 Miria in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Miria a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Miria 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 Miria still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Miria 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 Miria 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 Americans are named Miria?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.