Mariama
Feminine
Mariama is the West African form of Maryam — Mary — and her name's meaning has defeated scholars for two thousand years.
How old is the name Mariama?
Mariama first appears in US birth records in 1971 — 54 years ago. The typical Mariama alive today was born around 2008, making them about 17 years old. About 2,200 people named Mariama are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Mariama most popular?
Mariama peaked in 2001, reaching #2304 nationally. Today it ranks #2368, 64 places below that high. See the whole 2001 chart.
Where it comes from
From Miriam to Mariama
The story of Mariama
Miriam is Moses's sister, and her name may be Egyptian like her brothers'; nobody has recovered its meaning. Arabic Maryam names the mother of Jesus, who has a sura to herself in the Qur'an. West African languages made Mariama. It appears in American records in current use.
Meaningscholars disagree
Not established
Through Maryam and Miriam, whose Hebrew meaning is genuinely unrecovered. Proposals include 'bitter', 'beloved' and an Egyptian element meaning 'beloved'. None is established. The Mariama form is West African, from Arabic through Islam. The uncertainty is well documented.
How the name formed
- Miriam
- Maryam
- Mariama
Related forms: Mariama · مريم · Mary
Pronouncing Mariama
mah-ree-AH-mah
Four syllables, stress on the third. Arabic Maryam has two.
Nicknames for Mariama
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1971
- Most girls named
- 202477 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2304reached in 2001
- Change vs 2024
- −1.3%76 in 2025, from 77
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Mariama in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Mariama in Fula — same name
- مريم in Arabic — related form
- Mary in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, Ohio, Georgia.
Mariamas among us
people named Mariama are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 21,148 born in 2025 was named Mariama
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Mariama
- #2368
- Mariama on the 2025 chart
- #864
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Mariama went to 76 girls in 2025, but Maryama is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 96, which makes it the 864th most-given girls’ name of the year — 1,504 places above the chart.
- Mariama76
- Maryama20
About 1 girl in 16,742 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 21,148 for Mariama itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Letisia test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Mariama's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Letisia climbed just as high around 1979, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Letisia's path sketches the road Mariama is walking now.
Mariama sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Mariama is headed
Mariama should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Mariama beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Mariama in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That Mary is the only woman named in the Qur'an is a first-rate fact.
- Mari and Ama are two short forms, both real names elsewhere.
- Four syllables of open vowels, which carries unusually well.
- The name's meaning is genuinely unrecovered.
- Four syllables make it long for everyday use.
- It reads as specifically West African.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Mariama
Feminine · #2368 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Mariamas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,200 people named Mariama are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Mariama?
- Mariama is the most-used spelling in US records — 76 of the 96 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Maryama.
- How popular is the name Mariama in 2025?
- Mariama ranks #2368 among US girl names in 2025, with 76 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Mariama?
- About 1 in every 21,148 US girls born in 2025 was named Mariama — 76 in all.
- Will my child share the name Mariama with classmates?
- Mariama will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Mariama
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Weslynn#2368 · Roya#2368 · Jaziyah#2368 · Lela#2368 · Eevee#2368 · Sinai#2368 · Taya#2368 · Ramsey#2368
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Mariama? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Mariama and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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