Myriam
A French take on the Hebrew Miriam, carried in Poland as "wished-for child". Only about 112 women here bear it, so most Poles will never meet one.
Myriam Pronunciation
Myriam is pronounced MIHR-yahm (/ˈmɨrjam/).
What Myriam means
Where Myriam comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Myriam begins in Hebrew and comes to us through Miriam, its older and plainer variant. The spelling with the y settled in France, so the name now looks and sounds French, whatever its eastern beginning. The short meaning given to it, "wished-for child", belongs to a later reading. The root itself is disputed.
Scholars have tied that root to "bitterness", to "beloved", and to "the wished-for one", and no single reading has won. The sense of a longed-for child was attached to the name over time, and it is the one that has stuck for many families. The oldest bearer on record is Miriam of the Book of Exodus, the sister of Moses who watches his basket among the reeds.
In a Polish class register Myriam sits a few lines from Miriam, one form French, one form biblical. Both keep the same Hebrew source. The French y is what marks upragniona, the wished-for child.
How many people are named Myriam
1 in 201284 women in Poland is named Myriam. 112 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #3218 among female names.
Myriam's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 girls were given the name in 2025. It has been stable for a decade.
Myriam as a middle name
Myriam is a first name for 112 women in Poland and a middle name for another 36, a 76/24 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 1168th, between Maryam (36) and Odetta (36).
-
#1166 Mara36
-
#1167 Maryam36
-
#1168 Myriam36
-
#1169 Odetta36
-
#1170 Serena36