Meryem
Feminine · “not settled”
Meryem is Mary in Turkish, and it is also the Qur'anic form of the name: Maryam, the mother of Jesus, who is the only woman named outright in the Qur'an and has a chapter called after her. The name has been shared between Christians and Muslims for as long as both have existed.
How old is the name Meryem?
Meryem first appears in US birth records in 1992 — 33 years ago. The typical Meryem is a kid of about 10 — this name's wave is very recent. About 600 people named Meryem are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Meryem most popular?
Meryem peaked in 2014, reaching #3848 nationally. Today it ranks #4758, 910 places below that high. See the whole 2014 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Miryam to Meryem
The story of Meryem
Miryam is the sister of Moses in the Hebrew Bible and the mother of Jesus in the Gospels, and from those two the name went everywhere: Maria in Latin, Mary in English, Maryam in Arabic, Meryem in Turkish and Mariam in Georgian and Armenian. Turkish spells it with the vowels its own language prefers, and it is among the most-given names in Turkey and in Turkish-speaking communities in Germany and beyond. It also carries in Morocco and Algeria, where the spelling follows French orthography.
Meaningscholars disagree
not settled
The Hebrew Miryam has resisted explanation for two thousand years. Bitter, from mar, is the oldest guess and the weakest; rebellious, from marah, is another; the most respected modern reading takes it from Egyptian mry, beloved, since the name first appears in a family that had lived in Egypt. No reading has won.
How the name formed
- Miryam
- Mariam
- Maryam
- Meryem
Related forms: Maryam · Mary · María · Mariam · Maryam · Miriam
Pronouncing Meryem
mer-YEM
Two syllables with the stress at the end in Turkish, both vowels short and clean. English speakers often say MER-ee-em with three, which is close enough that families rarely correct it.
Nicknames for Meryem
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
- 1992
- Most girls named
- 201439 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3848reached in 2014
- Change vs 2024
- −6.7%28 in 2025, from 30
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.
Meryem in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Maryam in Arabic — same name
- Mary in English — same name
- María in Spanish — same name
- Mariam in Georgian — same name
- Maryam in Persian — same name
- Miriam in Hebrew — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, Texas, California.
Meryems among us
people named Meryem are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 57,402 born in 2025 was named Meryem
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Gwynneth test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Meryem's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Gwynneth climbed just as high around 1931, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Gwynneth's path sketches the road Meryem is walking now.
Meryem 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 Meryem is headed
Meryem 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.
Meryem beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Meryem in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is the same name as Mary and Maryam, so it is legible almost everywhere on earth.
- It carries weight in two religious traditions at once without belonging only to either.
- The Turkish spelling is short, phonetic and stable.
- English readers reach for Miriam or Meriem, and the spelling will be corrected often.
- Its meaning has never been settled, so a child looking it up will find several answers.
- It is very common in Turkey, so a family there may find it less distinctive than it feels in America.
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What they receive
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Meryem
Feminine · #4758 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Meryems are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Meryem are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Meryem in 2025?
- Meryem ranks #4758 among US girl names in 2025, with 28 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Meryem?
- About 1 in every 57,402 US girls born in 2025 was named Meryem — 28 in all.
- Will my child share the name Meryem with classmates?
- Meryem will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Meryem
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Marylou#4758 · Landon#4758 · Lexa#4758 · Alysia#4758 · Ixchel#4758 · Parisa#4758 · Jumana#4758 · Berenice#4758
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Meryem? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Meryem and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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