1. English, Malay, etc, from the Hebrew Miriam. The Baby Names Guide gives the meaning "Sea of Bitterness", which it shares with Miriam and Mary, and an alternative meaning of "Rebellious".

Since both are derivatives of Miriam, we classify Mariam as a lesser synonym of Mary. A correpondent [MC] records the name Mariam being used repeatedly over a number of generations in a family of Irish extraction.

2.  Also one of a large number of Dutch and Flemish pet names for Maria [q.v.] and a given name in its own right.