Or Mariam (mar-ee-am') of Hebrew origin (Miryam); Maria or Mariam (i.e. Mirjam), the name of six Christian females -- Mary.

see HEBREW Miryam

1. the mother of Jesus Christ, the wife of Joseph; her name is written Μαρία (in an oblique case) in Matthew 1:16, 18; Matthew 2:11; Mark 6:3; Luke 1:41; Acts 1:14 (R G L); Μαριάμ Matthew 13:55; Luke 1:27, 30-56 ((in Luke 1:38 L marginal reading Μαρία)); Luke 2:5, 16, 34; (Acts 1:14 T Tr WH); the reading varies between the two forms in Matthew 1:20 (WH text Μαρίαν); Luke 2:19 (L T Tr WH text Μαρία); so where the other women of this name are mentioned, (see Tdf. Proleg., p. 116, where it appears that in his text the genitive is always (seven times) Μαρίας; the nominative in Mark always (seven times) Μαρία; that in John Μαριάμ occurs eleven times; Μαρία (or Μαρίαν) only three times, etc.; for the facts respecting the manuscripts, see (Tdf. as above and) WHs Appendix, p. 156); cf. Buttmann, 17 (15).

2. Mary Magdalene (a native of Magdala): Matthew 27:56, 61; Matthew 28:1; Mark 15:40, 47; Mark 16:1, 9; Luke 8:2; Luke 24:10; John 19:25; John 20:1, 11, 16, 18.

3. the mother of James the less and Joses, the wife of Clopas (or Alphaeus) and sister of the mother of Jesus: Matthew 27:56, 61; Matthew 28:1; Mark 15:40, 47; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:10; John 19:25 (see Ἰάκωβος, 2). There are some, indeed, who, thinking it improbable that there were two living sisters of the name of Mary (the common opinion), suppose that not three but four women are enumerated in John 19:25, and that these are distributed into two pairs so that ἀδελφή τῆς μητρός Ἰησοῦ designates Salome, the wife of Zebedee; so especially Wieseler in the Theol. Studien und Kritiken for 1840, p. 648ff, (cf. Lightfoots Commentary on Galatians, Diasert. ii., especially, pp. 255f, 264) with whom Lücke, Meyer, Ewald and others agree; in opposed to them cf. Grimm in Ersch and Gruber's Encykl. sect. 2 vol. xxii., p. 1f. In fact, instances are not lacking among the Jews of two living brothers of the same name, e. g. Onias, in Josephus, Antiquities 12, 5, 1; Herod, sons of Herod the Great, one by Mariamne, the other by Cleopatra of Jerusalem, Josephus, Antiquities 17, 1, 3; b. j. 1, 28, 4; (cf. B. D., under the phrase, Mary of Cleophas; Lightfoot as above, p. 264).

4. the sister of Lazarus and Martha: Luke 10:39, 42; John 11:1-45; John 12:3.

5. the mother of John Mark: Acts 12:12.

6. a certain Christian woman mentioned in Romans 16:6.