Name meaning and origin
Mariah
English: A respelling of Maria (Mary) that keeps the older English sound, mah-RYE-ah
Pronounced mah-RYE-ah
Where the name comes from
- EnglishA respelling of Maria (Mary) that keeps the older English sound, mah-RYE-ahMariaThe popular meanings "of the sea" and "bitter" belong to Mary and Miriam, whose own origin is uncertain.
Mariah across traditions
- American popular culture. George R. Stewart’s novel Storm inspired the song "They Call the Wind Maria," sung mah-RYE-ah, in Lerner and Loewe’s Paint Your Wagon (1951). Mariah Carey’s parents named her after the song and added an h. Her 1990 debut took the name from #561 in 1989 to #259 in 1990 and a peak of #62 in 1998; it was New Mexico’s #4 girls’ name in 1997.
Who carried it
- Mariah Carey (born 1969): Singer-songwriter whose 1990 debut drove the name’s rise.
Forms in other languages
Maria
Mariah in letter-number systems
Hebrew, Greek and other traditions gave every letter a number, and read meaning into the totals. These are the counts, computed; the readings are inside the Innerverse.
257
Hebrew Standard
5
Hebrew Ordinal
50
English Simple
300
English Sumerian
112
English Reverse
160
Greek Isopsephy
5
Chaldean
5
Pythagorean
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