That being said, given that I grew up in an area with many Chaldeans, I have met many Mariam’s and Maryam’s in my lifetime. In every class, from middle to high school, I was never referred to as just “Mariam,” rather I have always been “Mariam A” or “Mariam number 1,” which goes to show just how many girls had the same name as me in my classes. However, upon further investigation via the SSA name database, I found that my name has never been that popular as it seems to only represent “0.032 percent of total female births in 2023” in the United States (SSA Name Database). Coincidently, 2023 is the year my name was ranked highest for the past 20 years, so it seems my name has never even made it to the top 5% of female names in a given year (SSA Name Database). Growing up, I always found it cool that I shared a name with so many different people in my classes, so it was surprising to learn that my name was not as popular as it seemed.

To me, my name has always been a connection to my family, culture, and religion. Despite the meaning of my personal use of the name “Mariam,” it seems to also hold other meanings. According to ancestry.com, my name also seems to have a Hebrew origin and “carries the significant meanings of Of the Sea or Bitter” (Ancestry.com). The meaning of “of the Sea” is a meaning I could resonate with as I will say I do enjoy swimming (Ancestry.com). However, I do not exactly swim in the sea very often as I really only ever tend to swim in Michigan’s freshwater lakes. I do not see myself in the other meaning of the name because I have never been a “bitter” person, but I will say the two meanings go well with each other since as the sea is salty, I suppose it would have a bitter taste if a person was to drink from it (Ancestry.com).

Despite the many different meanings of my name, I believe that my name fits me well, as it is the name my mother chose for me all those years ago when she first held me in her arms, which to me is more than enough to make me love my name.

Works Cited

Jamil, Ghfrain. Photo of Mariam Alatto. 9 June 2024. Author’s personal collection.

“Origin and Meaning of First Name Mariam.” Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/first-name-meaning/mariam 

Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.

“Popularity of Name Mariam.” U.S. Social Security Administration Baby Name Database, U.S. Social Security Administration, n.d., https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/, 

Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.