Miri
Feminine
Miri is the Hebrew short form of Miriam, the sister of Moses — one of the oldest women's names anywhere, and one whose meaning has never been agreed on.
How old is the name Miri?
Miri first appears in US birth records in 1962 — 63 years ago. The typical Miri is a kid of about 12 — this name's wave is very recent. About 900 people named Miri are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Miri most popular?
Miri peaked in 2022, reaching #3220 nationally. Today it ranks #3296, 76 places below that high. See the whole 2022 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Miriam to Miri
The story of Miri
Miriam watches her brother in the bulrushes, leads the women in song at the sea, and is a prophet in her own right in the biblical text. Her name became Maria in Greek and Latin and from there the single most-used women's name in European history. Hebrew kept the original and clipped it to Miri, which is a standard short form in modern Israel and is registered as a complete name there and in American records.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Miriam's origin is genuinely unsettled. Readings offered include bitterness, from a Hebrew root; rebellion, from another; and an Egyptian origin entirely, since the name appears in a family that the biblical text places in Egypt. None is established, and the honest answer is that nobody knows.
How the name formed
- Miriam
- Miri
Related forms: Miriam · Mary · Maryam
Pronouncing Miri
MEE-ree
Two syllables, first stressed. Hebrew places the stress on the second, mee-REE.
Nicknames for Miri
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
- 1962
- Most girls named
- 202250 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3220reached in 2022
- Change vs 2024
- +9.3%47 in 2025, from 43
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.
Miri in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Miriam in Hebrew — related form
- Mary in English — related form
- Maryam in Arabic — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, New Jersey, California.
Miris among us
people named Miri are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 34,197 born in 2025 was named Miri
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 Tiani test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Miri's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Tiani climbed just as high around 1995, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Tiani's path sketches the road Miri is walking now.
Miri 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 Miri is headed
Miri looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 17% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
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.
Miri beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Miri in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Four letters and two syllables, about as easy to write as a name gets.
- Miriam and Mary both stand behind it, giving it an enormous family.
- Open vowels make it readable in Hebrew, Spanish, Italian and English alike.
- The meaning is genuinely unknown, which surprises people who expect an ancient name to have one.
- It reads as a nickname in English, which may matter on a formal document.
- The stress differs between Hebrew and English readings.
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What they receive
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Miri
Feminine · #3296 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Miris are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Miri are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Miri in 2025?
- Miri ranks #3296 among US girl names in 2025, with 47 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Miri?
- About 1 in every 34,197 US girls born in 2025 was named Miri — 47 in all.
- Will my child share the name Miri with classmates?
- Miri will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Miri
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Neva#3296 · Aleyda#3296 · Kaylor#3296 · Nalia#3296 · Anyeli#3296 · Izabel#3296 · Esmee#3296 · Rhoda#3296
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Miri? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Miri and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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