Miranda
The story
Miranda is one of the few names with a birth certificate of its own: Shakespeare coined it for The Tempest from the Latin mirandus, to be admired or wondered at, and gave his Miranda the play's most famous wonder, the brave new world speech. American parents took three centuries to catch up. The US curve idles quietly until the 1960s, then climbs steadily to a peak in the 1990s and 2000s and remains strong through the 2020s. It is the rare literary coinage that became a mainstream classic without losing the bookish glow, admiration built into the Latin and the whole play folded inside. The modern chart and literary origin reinforce each other: familiar enough for daily use, specific enough to keep Shakespeare in view.
In literature since at least 1623: The Tempest (Shakespeare), 1623 First Folio.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Miranda peaked in the 1990s and the 2000s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
1,987 people · the #5,145 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 100,000 · median age 45
Among people named Miranda living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1970s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 89 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Miranda
Most people given the name Miranda in the United States were born between 1980 and 2009. The Miranda you meet today is most often in her 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Miranda deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Miranda truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Miranda fits with your family’s names and surname.
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