Girls' name · peaked in 1996
Mariah name popularity since 1925
114,120 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Mariah. Half of them were born in 2001 or earlier, so the typical Mariah is about 25 years old in 2026. Mariah peaked in 1996 as the #63 name for girls, and it ranked #448 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 114,120
- Named Mariah, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #448
- for girls in 2025 (693 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.8% girls
- 113,937 girls · 183 boys
- Most popular in
- New Mexico
- 3.24× its national share
Peak year is the year Mariah made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Mariah births per year, 1925–2025
1996 was the biggest year for Mariah both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1986 and 1991, Mariah became 18× more common, from 1 in 6,310 baby girls to 1 in 361.
- Steepest fall: Between 2014 and 2019, its share of baby girls fell by 47%, from 1 in 742 to 1 in 1,400.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Mariah's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Mariah.
Decade by decade
Babies named Mariah in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 115 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 187 | 0 | #1,703 |
| 1940s | 137 | 0 | #3,574 |
| 1950s | 115 | 0 | #4,605 |
| 1960s | 154 | 0 | #2,886 |
| 1970s | 1,656 | 15 | #861 |
| 1980s | 3,588 | 11 | #572 |
| 1990s | 44,603 | 81 | #71 |
| 2000s | 35,684 | 56 | #85 |
| 2010s | 22,500 | 20 | #152 |
| 2020–25 | 5,198 | 0 | #448 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
52.0% of babies named Mariah from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Z years (1997–2012). The full split by generation:
Where Mariah is most popular
The index compares Mariah's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Mariah.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| New Mexico | 3.24× | 2,026 |
| Nevada | 2.38× | 961 |
| Alaska | 2.15× | 362 |
| Arizona | 2.06× | 3,017 |
| Montana | 1.80× | 597 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Mariah and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Mariah (this page) | 113,937 | 1996 |
| Maria | 535,825 | 1966 |
| Mariyah | 6,555 | 2011 |
| Marah | 2,365 | 2004 |
| Maryah | 2,186 | 2008 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Mariah's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Mariah.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Mariah (1996).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data