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Raya vs Mariam

Which is more popular?
Raya is more popular than Mariam today: about 831 US babies were given the name Raya in 2025, compared with 0 named Mariam.
RayaMariam
Meaning Fragrance; or banner Variant of Maryam (Mary / Miriam)
Origin arabic arabic
Gender Girl Girl
Pronunciation RAH-yah MA-ree-am
Syllables 2 3
First appeared19580
Peak year2023 (867)2024 (623)
In 20258310
TrendNear its peakSteady
Popularity over time, 1880–2025
Raya Mariam
1900192019401960198020002020

Source: US Social Security Administration.

Births by decade

DecadeRayaMariam
2020s 4,256 3,230
2010s 2,087 5,125
2000s 1,052 4,085
1990s 385 2,248
1980s 138 1,081
1970s 64 435
1960s 16 341
1950s 5 251
1940s 0 248
1930s 0 349
1920s 0 589
1910s 0 410
1900s 0 96
1890s 0 56
1880s 0 11

What does Raya mean?

As an Arabic name Raya has two attested sources: rayya (ريا) 'aroma, fragrance, perfume', and raya (راية) 'flag, banner, ensign'; the intended sense varies by family, so it is best treated as disputed. Disambiguation: Raya also means 'celebration' in Malay (Hari Raya) and appears in Hebrew ('friend') and Slavic use - unrelated origins.

What does Mariam mean?

Mariam (مريم) is a widely used transliteration of the same Arabic name as Maryam, the form of biblical Mary/Miriam honoured in Islam as the mother of the prophet 'Isa. It carries the identical etymology (ultimately the Hebrew Miryam, meaning disputed); the spelling simply reflects regional pronunciation and romanisation preferences.

Frequently asked questions

Is Raya or Mariam more popular?

Raya is more popular than Mariam today: about 831 US babies were given the name Raya in 2025, compared with 0 named Mariam.

What is the difference between Raya and Mariam?

Raya means Fragrance; or banner (arabic origin), while Mariam means Variant of Maryam (Mary / Miriam) (arabic origin).

Which name is older, Raya or Mariam?

In US records, Raya first appears in 1958 and Mariam in 0, so Mariam has the longer recorded history.