Head to head · Girls' names
Maisie vs Miriam
#233 vs #246 in 2025
Maisie is a whisker ahead (#233 vs #246 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Maisie is climbing the charts fast, Miriam is holding its place on the charts.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Maisie and Miriam each lead 3 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Maisie —, Miriam #292 — Miriam higher
- 1890s: Maisie #1267, Miriam #234 — Miriam higher
- 1900s: Maisie #1536, Miriam #192 — Miriam higher
- 1910s: Maisie #1784, Miriam #150 — Miriam higher
- 1920s: Maisie #1611, Miriam #155 — Miriam higher
- 1930s: Maisie #2821, Miriam #210 — Miriam higher
- 1940s: Maisie #4065, Miriam #265 — Miriam higher
- 1950s: Maisie #5313, Miriam #272 — Miriam higher
- 1960s: Maisie #6390, Miriam #325 — Miriam higher
- 1970s: Maisie #5310, Miriam #350 — Miriam higher
- 1980s: Maisie #5122, Miriam #313 — Miriam higher
- 1990s: Maisie #2364, Miriam #284 — Miriam higher
- 2000s: Maisie #1800, Miriam #286 — Miriam higher
- 2010s: Maisie #911, Miriam #298 — Miriam higher
- 2020s: Maisie #324, Miriam #255 — Miriam higher
Miriam stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Maisie | Miriam |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #292 |
| 1890s | #1267 | #234 |
| 1900s | #1536 | #192 |
| 1910s | #1784 | #150 |
| 1920s | #1611 | #155 |
| 1930s | #2821 | #210 |
| 1940s | #4065 | #265 |
| 1950s | #5313 | #272 |
| 1960s | #6390 | #325 |
| 1970s | #5310 | #350 |
| 1980s | #5122 | #313 |
| 1990s | #2364 | #284 |
| 2000s | #1800 | #286 |
| 2010s | #911 | #298 |
| 2020s | #324 | #255 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Maisie
- Scotland#11
- England & Wales#44
Miriam
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Maisie
pearl
Maisie inherits its meaning from Margaret, which comes from Greek margarites, 'pearl'. The nickname itself was never a word — it grew out of Mairead, the Gaelic form of Margaret, worn down in ordinary speech.
Margarites → Margaret → Mairead → Maisie
How it traveled
Margaret traveled far and wide in medieval Europe and picked up dozens of household forms; in Scotland and the Gaelic-speaking west it became Mairead, and from Mairead came Maisie and its older Scots cousin Mysie. For centuries it lived as a spoken pet name rather than a christening name, the sort of thing written in letters and not in registers.
Miriam
Contested — readings include "bitter", "rebellion", and "beloved"
Hebrew scholars have long linked Miryam to mar, "bitter", or marah, "to rebel". A competing line, taken seriously by Egyptologists, connects it to Egyptian mry, "beloved", which fits a name borne by an Israelite woman born in Egypt. A further reading takes it as "wished-for child". No one reading has won.
Miryam (Hebrew) → Mariam (Greek) → Maria (Latin) → Mary (English) → Miriam (English)
How it traveled
Miriam begins as Hebrew Miryam, the prophetess of Exodus and Numbers. When Jewish scholars in Alexandria translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek in the last centuries BC, Miryam became Mariam, and from there Latin took Maria — which is how the same name reached English twice, once as Mary and much later, straight from the Hebrew, as Miriam.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Maisie
MAY-zee
The s sounds like a z. Occasionally read as MAY-see by people who have only seen it written; one correction usually settles it.
- Maise — Clipped spoken form; almost never written down.
- Mais — One-syllable version used within families rather than formally.
- Margaret — Not a nickname but the formal name behind it — some parents register Margaret and use Maisie every day, which gives a longer option later.
Miriam
MEER-ee-am
Most Americans say MEER-ee-am; MIRR-ee-am, with the vowel of "mirror", is also standard and widely heard. In Hebrew it is closer to meer-YAHM, with the stress at the end.
- Mimi — Informal and long established; also used on its own and as a grandmother name in some families.
- Miri — Common in Israel and in Hebrew-speaking families; used both at home and as a stand-alone name.
- Mim — Clipped, informal, mostly family and school use.
- Mira — Everyday short form that also exists independently as a given name in several languages.
- Also Mitzi.
Who has carried each name
Maisie
Maisie Williams (b. 1997) — Game of Thrones' Arya Stark
Miriam
Miriam Makeba (b. 1932) — "Mama Africa" — Grammy-winning singer and activist
Miriam Margolyes (b. 1941) — Harry Potter's Professor Sprout
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Maisie if you want…
- a name most people already know#233 in 2025, 1,328 babies that year
- a name on the way upup 177 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesMaisie is 2 syllables to Miriam's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooMaisie is on the national lists of Scotland and England & Wales
Choose Miriam if you want…
- a name fewer children share#246 in 2025 — miriam will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name holding steadyMiriam is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itMiriam runs 3 syllables, Maisie 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Mimi, Miri and Mim
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Maisie
Strengths
- Short, spelled the way it sounds once the z-sound is known, and easy for a small child to say and write.
- Sits on top of Margaret, so it can honor a Margaret in the family while sounding nothing like her.
- In continuous use in Britain, so it is familiar rather than invented — a known name on both sides of the Atlantic.
To consider
- Maisy, Maizie and Mazie all exist, and one of them belongs to a very well-known picture-book mouse. Expect to spell it out fairly often.
- It is a diminutive by origin and stays informal in tone; there is no built-in longer version unless you register Margaret and use Maisie in daily life.
- The American wave is very recent, so most Maisies here are young children — there are few adult namesakes to point to yet, though Britain has had them for generations.
Miriam
Strengths
- A spelling almost everyone can read on sight, because it sits so close to Mary and Maria.
- Unbroken presence in American records from the very start of them — familiar in every generation without being crowded.
- Travels intact: Maryam in Arabic, Mirjam in German, Myriam in French, Miryam in Hebrew all point back to the same woman.
To consider
- The "bitter" reading is the one most often quoted in name books. It is only one of several serious readings, but it is the one relatives are likely to bring up.
- Two standard pronunciations, MEER- and MIRR-, means the occasional correction. Neither is wrong, so it is worth deciding which one your family uses.
- Myriam, Mirriam and Mariam are all real names, so expect a spelling check now and then on forms and rosters.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Maisie
56%chance Maisie feels dated by 2040
Maisie is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
Miriam
25%chance Miriam feels dated by 2040
Miriam peaked long ago yet still holds steady — names that survive their own wave usually settle into quiet, durable classics.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Maisie and Miriam in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Maisie and Miriam?
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Scottish heritage names with highland spirit
- Cute and cozy names that stay small
- Names ending in -ie
- The steadiest names in America
- all guides
Where Maisie and Miriam each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Maisie or Miriam — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Maisie or Miriam?
- Maisie, in 2025: Maisie ranked #233 with 1,328 babies; Miriam ranked #246 with 1,262 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Maisie or Miriam?
- Maisie. Over the last five years Maisie moved up 177 places; Miriam moved up 22 places.
- Which is the older name, Maisie or Miriam?
- Maisie entered the US charts in 1890; Miriam was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Miriam is the older name.
- How many people are named Maisie and Miriam?
- About 12,000 people named Maisie are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 75,000 people named Miriam are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Maisies or Miriams in the classroom?
- Maisie will almost certainly be the only one in school. Miriam will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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