How popular is the baby name Maryam in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Maryam.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Maryam


Posts that Mention the Name Maryam

Where did the baby name Mayim come from in 1993?

The character Blossom (played by Mayim Bialik) from the TV series "Blossom" (1991-1995).
Mayim Bialik (as Blossom)

The rare name Mayim first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1993:

  • 1995: unlisted
  • 1994: unlisted
  • 1993: 8 baby girls named Mayim [debut]
  • 1992: unlisted
  • 1991: unlisted

Where did it come from?

Young actress Mayim Bialik (pronounced MY-im bee-AH-lik).

She played the part of smart, spunky teenager Blossom Russo on the TV series Blossom (1991-1995).

Blossom was the only girl in the house: She lived with her father, a divorced session musician, and her two older brothers, Tony and Joey. She also spent a lot of time with her fast-talking best friend, Six LeMeure.

The plot lines mostly revolve around [Blossom’s] battles with school authorities, her trials of romance, the temptations of marijuana, alcohol and sex, wrecking her father’s car or having to sneak back into the house after staying out all night.

The sitcom wasn’t successful right away. By the third season (1992-1993), though, Blossom had blossomed into a hit. So it’s not surprising that the name Mayim didn’t debut in the data until midway through the show’s run.

Mayim Bialik’s first name is a Hebrew vocabulary word defined by some sources as “waters” (plural), though the actress herself prefers to define it as “water” (singular):

I was named for water. Mayim means water in Hebrew and it has followed me my entire life as a personal metaphor. Water is the element closest to my heart. 

The word mayim is not typically used as a given name among Hebrew speakers. So how did Bialik come to have it?

Turns out it was bestowed in honor of her grandmother, Maryam, who was known as “Bubbe Mayim” within the family. (Bubbe means “grandmother” in Yiddish.)

What are your thoughts on the name Mayim?

P.S. The name Blossom also saw a modest increase in usage in the early 1990s, particularly 1991.

Sources:

Popular baby names in Spain, 2021

spain

Last year, the country of Spain welcomed nearly 163,000 baby girls and almost 174,000 baby boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Lucia and Martin.

Here are Spain’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2021…

Girl Names

  1. Lucia, 3,643 baby girls
  2. Martina, 3,042
  3. Sofia, 2,998
  4. Maria, 2,696
  5. Valeria, 2,390
  6. Julia, 2,363
  7. Paula, 2,050
  8. Emma, 2,033
  9. Daniela, 1,866
  10. Carla, 1,811
  11. Alma, 1,772
  12. Olivia, 1,732
  13. Sara, 1,708
  14. Carmen, 1,696
  15. Vega, 1,666
  16. Mia, 1,663
  17. Lara, 1,627
  18. Alba, 1,561
  19. Noa, 1,542
  20. Lola, 1,533
  21. Valentina, 1,434
  22. Chloe, 1,415
  23. Claudia, 1,380
  24. Jimena, 1,375
  25. Aitana, 1,246
  26. Laia, 1,116
  27. Vera, 1,069
  28. Abril, 1,067
  29. Alejandra, 1,060
  30. Ana, 1,047
  31. Triana, 1,043
  32. Candela, 1,041
  33. Adriana, 996
  34. Manuela, 962
  35. Elena, 959
  36. Carlota, 931
  37. Ines, 895
  38. Blanca, 888
  39. Marina, 868
  40. Marta, 813
  41. Lia, 790
  42. Victoria, 782
  43. Nora, 764
  44. Zoe, 752
  45. Rocio, 747
  46. Alicia, 723
  47. Clara, 718
  48. Gala, 707
  49. Luna, 685
  50. Ariadna, 673

Vega, which ranked 15th, is the Spanish word for “meadow.” As a given name, it’s a reference to the Marian title La Virgen de la Vega. (The word is also featured in the name of the famous Nevada city of Las Vegas — “the meadows.”)

Boy Names

  1. Martin, 3,459 baby boys
  2. Hugo, 3,339
  3. Mateo, 3,270
  4. Leo, 2,837
  5. Lucas, 2,810
  6. Manuel, 2,587
  7. Daniel, 2,520
  8. Alejandro, 2,513
  9. Pablo, 2,276
  10. Enzo, 2,007
  11. Alvaro, 1,941
  12. Mario, 1,792
  13. Adrian, 1,781
  14. Diego, 1,598
  15. Thiago, 1,567
  16. Bruno, 1,485
  17. Oliver, 1,452
  18. David, 1,441
  19. Alex, 1,438
  20. Marco, 1,413
  21. Gonzalo, 1,364
  22. Marcos, 1,349
  23. Nicolas, 1,315
  24. Antonio, 1,303
  25. Izan, 1,279
  26. Miguel, 1,275
  27. Javier, 1,267
  28. Luca, 1,216
  29. Liam, 1,198
  30. Gael, 1,127
  31. Marc, 1,095
  32. Dylan, 1,044
  33. Juan, 1,036
  34. Angel, 1,035
  35. Carlos, 992
  36. Jose, 988
  37. Gabriel, 960
  38. Sergio, 907
  39. Eric, 862
  40. Jorge, 849
  41. Dario, 832
  42. Adam, 818
  43. Samuel, 811
  44. Hector, 784
  45. Rodrigo, 762
  46. Iker, 750
  47. Pau, 735
  48. Jesus, 723
  49. Guillermo, 706
  50. Jaime, 705

Home to more than 47 million people, Spain is divided into 17 autonomous communities (including two island groups) and two autonomous cities (both located on the northern coast of Africa).

Map of the 17 autonomous communities of Spain
Spain’s 17 autonomous communities

The top baby names within each of Spain’s 17 autonomous communities last year were…

Girl NamesBoy Names
Andalusia
(18.0% of the population)		1. Maria, 970
2. Lucia, 821
3. Martina, 667
4. Carmen, 623
5. Lola, 614		1. Manuel, 1,165
2. Hugo, 823
3. Martin, 801
4. Alejandro, 780
5. Pablo, 654
Catalonia
(16.2% of pop.)		1. Julia, 469
2. Martina, 423
3. Mia, 403
4. Emma, 400
5. Lucia, 379		1. Marc, 439
2. Nil, 439
3. Pol, 438
4. Jan, 422
5. Leo, 420
Madrid (community)
(14.3% of pop.)		1. Lucia, 712
2. Sofia, 576
3. Martina, 463
4. Olivia, 437
5. Paula, 394		1. Mateo, 654
2. Martin, 593
3. Lucas, 552
4. Alejandro, 530
5. Daniel, 500
Valencia (community)
(10.7% of pop.)		1. Lucia, 378
2. Sofia, 368
3. Martina, 324
4. Maria, 270
5. Valeria, 265		1. Martin, 408
2. Mateo, 375
3. Marc, 354
4. Hugo, 336 (tie)
5. Lucas, 336 (tie)
Galicia
(5.7% of pop.)		1. Sofia, 170
2. Noa, 162
3. Martina, 140
4. Lara, 137
5. Valeria, 129		1. Mateo, 276
2. Martin, 261
3. Hugo, 198
4. Leo, 176
5. Lucas, 168
Castile and León
(5.0% of pop.)		1. Lucia, 171
2. Sofia, 139
3. Valeria, 126
4. Martina, 121
5. Daniela, 116		1. Martin, 187 (tie)
2. Mateo, 187 (tie)
3. Hugo, 157
4. Lucas, 147
5. Daniel, 146
Canary Islands
(4.7% of pop.)		1. Martina, 131
2. Lucia, 113
3. Sofia, 109
4. Valeria, 86
5. Chloe, 83		1. Mateo, 152
2. Hugo, 124
3. Thiago, 114
4. Leo, 112
5. Lucas, 93
Basque Country
(4.6% of pop.)		1. Ane, 149
2. Laia, 135
3. June, 121
4. Nahia, 113
5. Maddi/Malen, 97 (tie)		1. Markel, 155
2. Martin, 143
3. Julen, 141
4. Oihan, 131
5. Jon, 118
Castilla-La Mancha
(4.3% of pop.)		1. Lucia, 206
2. Valeria, 172
3. Martina, 149
4. Sofia, 144
5. Maria, 143		1. Martin, 217
2. Hugo, 200
3. Mateo, 199
4. Lucas, 172
5. Daniel, 155
Murcia
(3.2% of pop.)		1. Lucia, 173
2. Maria, 167
3. Sofia, 143
4. Valeria, 133
5. Martina, 122		1. Hugo, 177
2. Pablo, 152
3. Alejandro, 129
4. Martin, 125
5. Leo, 122
Aragon
(2.8% of pop.)		1. Lucia, 125
2. Martina, 80 (tie)
3. Valeria, 80 (tie)
4. Vega, 78
5. Sofia, 74		1. Martin, 112 (tie)
2. Mateo, 112 (tie)
3. Hugo, 108
4. Lucas, 93
5. Leo, 88
Balearic Islands
(2.6% of pop.)		1. Martina, 93
2. Julia, 90
3. Emma, 75
4. Maria, 66
5. Lucia, 64		1. Marc, 146
2. Pau, 95
3. Hugo, 90
4. Lucas, 63
5. Marti, 62
Extremadura
(2.2% of pop.)		1. Lucia, 114
2. Martina, 101
3. Maria, 83 (tie)
4. Valeria, 83 (tie)
5. Paula, 81		1. Manuel, 129
2. Martin, 104
3. Alvaro, 94
4. Hugo, 92
5. Daniel, 84
Asturias
(2.1% of pop.)		1. Lucia, 62
2. Valeria, 57
3. Martina, 53
4. Lara, 46
5. Sofia, 44		1. Martin, 83
2. Mateo, 68
3. Lucas, 64
4. Hugo, 57
5. Marco, 50
Navarre
(1.4% of pop.)		1. Nahia, 37
2. Ane, 36 (tie)
3. Irati, 36 (tie)
4. Lucia, 35
5. Martina, 34		1. Martin, 48
2. Mateo, 46
3. Julen, 37
4. Hugo, 36 (tie)
5. Leo, 36 (tie)
Cantabria
(1.2% of pop.)		1. Lucia, 48
2. Sofia, 41
3. Martina, 40
4. Vega, 36
5. Valeria, 35		1. Mateo, 60
2. Martin, 53
3. Hugo, 47
4. Leo, 46
5. Lucas, 44
La Rioja
(0.7% of pop.)		1. Lucia, 28
2. Sofia, 26
3. Martina, 21
4. Julia, 19
5. Carmen/Maria/Valeria, 16 (tie)		1. Martin, 33 (tie)
2. Mateo, 33 (tie)
3. Daniel, 26 (tie)
4. Hugo, 26 (tie)
5. Pablo, 22

The top baby names within each of Spain’s two autonomous cities (in Africa) were…

Girl NamesBoy Names
Melilla
(0.2% of the population)		1. Amira, 15
2. Nour, 9
3. Noha, 8
4. Malak/Maryam/Tasnim, 7 (tie)		1. Amir, 20
2. Adam, 15
3. Mohamed, 14
4. Imran, 13
5. Maher, 12
Ceuta
(0.2% of pop.)		1. Amira, 10
2. Jimena, 6 (tie)
3. Zaira, 6 (tie)
4. Martina/Noor/Suyud, 5 (tie)		1. Mohamed, 17
2. Amir, 13
3. Akram, 9
4. Maher, 8 (tie)
5. Omar, 8 (tie)

Finally, here’s a link to Spain’s 2020 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: Apellidos y nombres más frecuentes – INEbase, Population of Spain in 2022, by autonomous community – Statista, Spain – Wikipedia
Map: Adapted from Autonomous communities of Spain no names by Habbit under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Popular baby names in Azerbaijan, 2021

azerbaijan

According to Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Justice, the most popular baby names in the country last year were Zahra and Ali.

Here are Azerbaijan’s top 5 girl names and top 5 boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  • Zahra
  • Zeynab
  • Maryam
  • Fatima
  • Aylin

Boy Names

  • Ali
  • Yusif
  • Huseyn
  • Ugur
  • Mahammad

I’ve never published a set of rankings for Azerbaijan before, but I did write a post in early 2016 that mentioned that the top baby names in the country at that time were Fatima and Zeyneb (for girls) and Ali, Hasan, and Huseyn (for boys).

Source: Top baby names in Azerbaijan for last year announced (Azeri-Press Agency)

Popular baby names in Israel, 2020

Israel

According to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the most popular baby names in the country in 2020 were Maya and Mohammed.

The top baby names within each of Israel’s main religious groups were…

In Israel…Top girl nameTop boy name
Jewish population (74.2%)TamarDavid
Muslim population (17.8%)MaryamMohammed
Christian population (2.0%)LinCharbel
Druze population (1.6%)MilaAdam
OverallMayaMohammed

Among the Jews in Israel…

  • The top 10 girl names were Tamar, Maya, Abigail, Noa, Sarah, Ayalah, Adele, Yael, Shira, and Esther.
  • The top 10 boy names were David, Lavi, Ariel, Yosef, Noam, Uri, Refael, Ari, Moshe, and Yehuda.
  • Less popular girl names included “Ahava (Love), Alta, Herut (Liberty), Ya’ar (Forest), Alexandra, Dorin, Ortal, Pessele, Kayla, Ruthi, Shalhevet and Tamari.”
  • Less popular boy names included “Avi, Yigal, Yaron, Yaniv, Eran, and Ram, with the most unusual ones being Lear, Shayel, Luka, Don and Tay.”
  • “Among Ethiopian Jewish boys, the most popular names were Refael, Emmanuel and Noam.”

Among the Muslims in Israel…

  • The top 10 girl names were Maryam, Sham, Lin, Malek, Jori, Lian, Mila, Aline, Nur, and Marya.
  • The top 10 boy names were Mohammed, Ahmad, Adam, Yusef, Omer, Ali, Abd, Amir, Ibrahim, and Mahmoud.

Among the Christians in Israel…

  • The top girl names were Lin, Maria, Sama, Celine, and Leah.
  • The top boy names were Charbel, Jude, Niel, Elias, Liam, and George.

Among the Druze in Israel…

  • The top girl names were Mila, Ayalah, Lur, Lin, and Yasmin.
  • The top boy names were Adam, Taim, Niel, Amir, and Jude.

The last set of rankings I posted for Israel were the 2015 rankings.

Sources: Most popular baby names of 2020: Mohammed, David, Tamar and Maryam, Muhammad and Maya top list of Israeli newborn’s names in 2020, Muhammad and Maya were Israel’s most popular baby names in 2020, Religion in Israel – Wikipedia