Maryam (name)
Encyclopedia
Maryam or Mariam is the Aramaic and Arabic name
of Miriam the sister of Moses
and of Mary
the mother of Jesus
( ‘Īsā
), mentioned in the Greek
translation of the Tanakh
or Old Testament
known as the Septuagint, in the original Greek
text of the New Testament
, and in the original Arabic
text of the Qur'an
. The name has the same form in Syriac
and Armenian
. The Hebrew
variant of the name is Miriam, the Latin
variant is Maria. This Latin form is the one that was adopted into all modern Western European languages following Christianization
.
The name may have originated from the Egyptian mry "beloved" or mr "love" or the derived ancient Egyptian name Meritamen
or Meri-Amun, "beloved of the God Amun". It was incorporated in the Exodus narrative as Miriam, the name of Moses' sister. It became quite common in ancient Israel, possibly the most common female given name, hence its appearance in the Gospel narrative as the name of Jesus' mother and several other women. It is also believed that the name means 'rebellious'.. It also is a name of a flower (tuberoses) in the Persian
language.
where patronymic
s are generally used in place of surnames.
A notable person with a patronymic derived from Maryam is Mengistu Haile Mariam
(born 1937), Ethiopia's head of state from 1977 to 1991.
Many Ethiopian men and women bear names including Maryam, notably:
Still other Ethiopians bear names derived from titles or feasts of St. Mary, such as Zedingil ('Of the Virgin') and Kidane ('Covenant [of Mercy]').
Arabic name
Long ago, Arabic names were based on a long naming system; most Arabs did not simply have given/middle/family names, but a full chain of names. This system was in use throughout the Arab world. Today however, Arabic names are similar in structure to those of Modern and Western names...
of Miriam the sister of Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
and of Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
the mother of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
( ‘Īsā
Isa (name)
Isa is an Arabic name corresponding to Jesus in English. It is a common male given name for Arabs and Muslims.Arabic-speaking Muslims refer to Jesus as Isa, while Arabic-speaking Christians refer to Jesus as Yasu...
), mentioned in the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
translation of the Tanakh
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
or Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
known as the Septuagint, in the original Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
text of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, and in the original Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
text of the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
. The name has the same form in Syriac
Syriac language
Syriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Having first appeared as a script in the 1st century AD after being spoken as an unwritten language for five centuries, Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from...
and Armenian
Armenian language
The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
. The Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
variant of the name is Miriam, the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
variant is Maria. This Latin form is the one that was adopted into all modern Western European languages following Christianization
Christianization
The historical phenomenon of Christianization is the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once...
.
The name may have originated from the Egyptian mry "beloved" or mr "love" or the derived ancient Egyptian name Meritamen
Meritamen
Meritamen was a daughter and later Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Ramesses the Great.- Family :...
or Meri-Amun, "beloved of the God Amun". It was incorporated in the Exodus narrative as Miriam, the name of Moses' sister. It became quite common in ancient Israel, possibly the most common female given name, hence its appearance in the Gospel narrative as the name of Jesus' mother and several other women. It is also believed that the name means 'rebellious'.. It also is a name of a flower (tuberoses) in the Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
language.
People with this given name
Maryam/ Meryem / Merjem or Mariam may refer to:- Maryam, Arabic name for Mary (mother of Jesus)Mary (mother of Jesus)Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
(see also Islamic view of Mary) - Maryam d'AboMaryam d'AboMaryam d'Abo is an English film and television actress, best known as Bond girl Kara Milovy in the 1987 James Bond film The Living Daylights.-Early life:...
(born 1960), English actress - Mariam Doumbia (born 1958), half of Amadou & Mariam, a musical duo from Mali
- Maryam MirzakhaniMaryam MirzakhaniMaryam Mirzakhani is an Iranian mathematician, Professor of Mathematics at Stanford University...
(born 1977), Iranian mathematician - Maryam MursalMaryam Mursal-Biography:Mursal grew up in Somalia in a Muslim family with four daughters. As a teenager, she broke with tradition and began singing professionally in Mogadishu. She performed in nightclubs and her brand of music, featuring a mix of blues, soul, Somali and Arabic influences, and known as Somali...
(born 1950), Somalian musician - Maryam NamazieMaryam NamazieMaryam Namazie is a human rights activist, commentator and broadcaster. Namazie has served as the executive director of the International Federation of Iranian Refugees. She is spokesperson for the One Law for All Campaign against Sharia Law in Britain. The campaign is opposed to faith based laws...
, political activist of Iranian descent - Maryam Nemazee, Iranian television journalist
- Mariam OmarMariam OmarMariam Omar is a Zanzibari politician and member of the Sauti ya Umma party. Running as the SAU candidate in the 30 October 2005 Zanzibar presidential election, Omar finished last out of six candidates, receiving 0.07% of the vote. She is the first woman ever to contest the Zanzibar...
, Zanzibari politician - Maryam RajaviMaryam RajaviMaryam Rajavi is an Iranian politician who is President elect of National Council of Resistance of Iran, a front group for People's Mujahedin of Iran, since 1993. She is the wife of Massoud Rajavi, a founder of the People's Mujahedin of Iran...
(born 1953), Iranian political activist - Mariam WafaMariam WafaMariam Wafa is a popular Afghan singer. She currently resides in California, U.S., where she continues her music career in exile.- Discography :*1998: Wafa*2001?: Naaz*2004: Live in Germany...
, Afghan singer - Maryam Yusuf JamalMaryam Yusuf JamalMaryam Yusuf Jamal is a Bahraini middle distance runner.Born in Ethiopia, 2005 was her first full season. She gained the national record and ran the fastest 3000 m of 2005 with a time of 8:28.87 at a race in Oslo...
(born 1984), Bahraini athlete - Myriam FaresMyriam FaresMyriam Fares is a Lebanese singer and entertainer.-Early life and beginnings:Myriam was born in Kafar Shlal, a small village in Southern Lebanon, near Kafarhata village, 5 miles east of Saida....
(born 1983), Lebanese singer
As a family name
Maryam or Mariam can also be a family name, particularly in EthiopiaEthiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
where patronymic
Patronymic
A patronym, or patronymic, is a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor. A component of a name based on the name of one's mother or a female ancestor is a matronymic. Each is a means of conveying lineage.In many areas patronyms...
s are generally used in place of surnames.
A notable person with a patronymic derived from Maryam is Mengistu Haile Mariam
Mengistu Haile Mariam
Mengistu Haile Mariam is a politician who was formerly the most prominent officer of the Derg, the Communist military junta that governed Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987, and the President of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from 1987 to 1991...
(born 1937), Ethiopia's head of state from 1977 to 1991.
Many Ethiopian men and women bear names including Maryam, notably:
- Takla MaryamTakla MaryamTakla Maryam was of Ethiopia...
(1430–1433), a member of the Solomonic dynasty - Baeda MaryamBaeda Maryam of EthiopiaBaeda Maryam was of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty...
(1468–1478), Emperor of Ethiopia
Still other Ethiopians bear names derived from titles or feasts of St. Mary, such as Zedingil ('Of the Virgin') and Kidane ('Covenant [of Mercy]').
See also
- Maryam (disambiguation)
- Miriam (given name)Miriam (given name)Miriam is an ancient female Hebrew given name that has taken on many other forms in other languages and cultures, including the English name Mary. -Origin and variants:...
- Islamic view of Mary
- Miriam (disambiguation)Miriam (disambiguation)-In literature:* Miriam , a short story by Truman Capote* The woman with seven sons in Lamentations Rabbah, sometimes called "Miriam"-In music:* Miriam , an album by Jessi Colter...