Head to head · Girls' names
Mariam vs Raegan
#505 vs #505 in 2025
Mariam and Raegan share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#505). The records cannot split them; sound and story will.
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: Mariam and Raegan each lead 2 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: Mariam #863, Raegan — — Mariam higher
- 1890s: Mariam #1229, Raegan — — Mariam higher
- 1900s: Mariam #1277, Raegan — — Mariam higher
- 1910s: Mariam #1002, Raegan — — Mariam higher
- 1920s: Mariam #979, Raegan — — Mariam higher
- 1930s: Mariam #1250, Raegan — — Mariam higher
- 1940s: Mariam #1798, Raegan — — Mariam higher
- 1950s: Mariam #2188, Raegan — — Mariam higher
- 1960s: Mariam #2065, Raegan #3814 — Mariam higher
- 1970s: Mariam #2070, Raegan #2815 — Mariam higher
- 1980s: Mariam #1268, Raegan #3590 — Mariam higher
- 1990s: Mariam #899, Raegan #1535 — Mariam higher
- 2000s: Mariam #671, Raegan #482 — Raegan higher
- 2010s: Mariam #588, Raegan #292 — Raegan higher
- 2020s: Mariam #562, Raegan #375 — Raegan higher
Mariam stood higher in 12 of 15 decades; Raegan has held the lead since the 2000s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Mariam | Raegan |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #863 | — |
| 1890s | #1229 | — |
| 1900s | #1277 | — |
| 1910s | #1002 | — |
| 1920s | #979 | — |
| 1930s | #1250 | — |
| 1940s | #1798 | — |
| 1950s | #2188 | — |
| 1960s | #2065 | #3814 |
| 1970s | #2070 | #2815 |
| 1980s | #1268 | #3590 |
| 1990s | #899 | #1535 |
| 2000s | #671 | #482 |
| 2010s | #588 | #292 |
| 2020s | #562 | #375 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Mariam
- France#86
Raegan
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
Mariam
Uncertain; the same name as Miriam and Mary
No reading has won. The best-supported proposals trace it to Egyptian mry, 'beloved', or to a root meaning 'wished-for child'; an old Hebrew folk etymology splits it as mar and yam, 'bitter sea'. Scholars have argued over this for centuries, and the honest summary is that the name is older than any explanation of it.
Miryam → Mariam → Maryam → Maria → Mary
How it traveled
The name begins as Hebrew Miryam, borne by the sister of Moses in the Torah. When Jewish translators and the writers of the Greek New Testament put it into Greek, they used Mariam — an indeclinable form that sat awkwardly in Greek grammar and so stayed close to the original sound.
Raegan
from the Irish personal name Riagán, most often read as 'little king'
Two readings compete. The most widely repeated links Riagán to Irish rí, 'king', giving 'little king' or 'descendant of the king'. Others connect it to a root meaning 'impulsive' or 'fierce'. Neither has won; the name is old enough that its first element is genuinely obscure.
Riagán → Ó Riagáin → Regan → Reagan → Raegan
How it traveled
The name begins as Riagán, an early Irish personal name, which gave the surname Ó Riagáin — anglicized as O'Regan, Regan and Reagan, long associated with counties Cork, Limerick and Meath. Irish emigration carried the surname across the United States in the nineteenth century, where, like Ryan, Kennedy and Quinn, it eventually crossed over into use as a first name.
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
Mariam
MAR-ee-um
English speakers usually stress the first syllable: MAR-ee-um or MAH-ree-um. In Arabic the stress moves to the middle, mar-YAM, and Georgian keeps a fuller mah-ree-AHM. All are correct for their language; it is worth deciding which one you will correct people toward.
- Mari — The most direct short form, and a standalone given name in Welsh, Georgian and Japanese.
- Mimi — Affectionate and informal; used across several languages for names beginning with Ma- or Mi-.
- Mia — Informal in the family, though widely known on its own as a full given name in the US.
- Ria — Clipped from the end rather than the start; common in Dutch and German usage.
- Also Mary.
Raegan
RAY-gən
Stress on the first syllable, with the second reduced to something close to 'gun'. The related spelling Regan is sometimes said REE-gan, especially in Shakespeare; Raegan's ae signals the long A and largely prevents that.
- Rae — The standard short form, and a long-established given name in its own right, so it works on a résumé as well as at the dinner table.
- Rae-Rae — A family and playground doubling, generally used with young children and rarely carried into adulthood.
- Gan — An occasional informal clip used among siblings and close friends; uncommon.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Mariam if you want…
- a name on the way upup 131 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itMariam runs 3 syllables, Raegan 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Mari, Mimi and Mia
- a name that charts abroad tooMariam is on the national lists of France
Choose Raegan if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsRaegan is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesRaegan is 2 syllables to Mariam's 3
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
Mariam
Strengths
- Recognized in Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities alike, and written the same way in all of them.
- Spelled phonetically for English readers — no silent letters, no ambiguous vowels.
- A written record going back to the Greek of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, unbroken since.
To consider
- It will be confused with Miriam, Maryam and Marium for life. All four are the same name, which makes the mix-up forgivable, but expect to spell it out at doctors' offices and on class lists.
- The stress pattern shifts between communities: MAR-ee-um in English, mar-YAM in Arabic. Neither is wrong, and a child with family in both will simply learn to answer to both.
- The meaning is genuinely unsettled. If you want a name whose translation you can give in one line, this one will keep resisting.
Raegan
Strengths
- Reads correctly on sight for English speakers — the ae spelling points clearly to the long A.
- Comes with Rae, a short form that also stands alone as a full given name.
- Sits on a surname with a documented Irish line going back to the personal name Riagán.
To consider
- Reagan is the spelling most people reach for first. Expect a lifetime of gentle corrections: spelling it out on forms, and finding it written the other way on coffee cups and class lists.
- The surname is strongly attached to Ronald Reagan in American ears, which for some families is a plus and for others a reason to pause. The effect fades with the respelling but does not disappear.
- In Shakespeare's King Lear, Regan is one of the treacherous daughters — a faint literary shadow that most people will not make, though English teachers may.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
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 Mariam and Raegan 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 Mariam and Raegan?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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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
Where Mariam and Raegan each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Mariam or Raegan — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Mariam or Raegan?
- They tie in 2025: Mariam ranked #505 with 589 babies; Raegan ranked #505 with 589 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Mariam or Raegan?
- Mariam. Over the last five years Mariam moved up 131 places; Raegan moved down 246 places.
- Which is the older name, Mariam or Raegan?
- Mariam entered the US charts in 1882; Raegan entered the US charts in 1963. On the American record, Mariam is the older name.
- How many people are named Mariam and Raegan?
- About 17,000 people named Mariam are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 25,000 people named Raegan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Mariams or Raegans in the classroom?
- Mariam will almost certainly be the only one in school. Raegan 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
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Mariam, Raegan and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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