Maja
Feminine
Maja is used across Scandinavia, Poland and the Balkans, and it arrives from two directions at once: as a short form of Maria and as the Roman goddess Maia, who gave May its name.
How old is the name Maja?
Maja first appears in US birth records in 1953 — 72 years ago. The typical Maja alive today was born around 2008, making them about 17 years old. About 2,000 people named Maja are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Maja most popular?
Maja peaked in 2011, reaching #2298 nationally. Today it ranks #3712, 1,414 places below that high. See the whole 2011 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Maria to Maja
The story of Maja
Swedish, Polish, Croatian and Slovene all clip Maria to Maja, and it has been registered as a complete name in each for generations — it is among the most-used women's names in Sweden and Poland. Separately, the Roman Maia was honored on the first of May and gave the month its name. The two lines have converged, and the j is said as a y in every language that uses this spelling.
Meaningnot established
Not established
In Scandinavian and Slavic use Maja is a short form of Maria, whose own meaning is genuinely unsettled. Separately, Roman Maia was a goddess of growth who gave her name to the month of May, and her name is connected to a word meaning greater. Both feed the modern name.
How the name formed
- Maria
- Maja
Related forms: Maja · Maja · Maya · Maja
Pronouncing Maja
MY-ah
Two syllables, first stressed; the j is said as a y in every language that uses this spelling.
Nicknames for Maja
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1953
- Most girls named
- 200984 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2298reached in 2011
- Change vs 2024
- +8.1%40 in 2025, from 37
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Maja in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Maja in Swedish — same name
- Maja in Polish — same name
- Maya in English — spelling variant
- Maja in German — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Illinois, California, Colorado.
Majas among us
people named Maja are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 40,182 born in 2025 was named Maja
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Laquetta test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Maja's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Laquetta climbed just as high around 1940, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Laquetta's path sketches the road Maja is walking now.
Maja sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Maja is headed
Maja is easing off slowly — about 17% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Maja beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Maja in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Very widely used across Scandinavia, Poland and the Balkans.
- Four letters and two syllables, about as easy to write as a name gets.
- Maria and Maya both stand beside it as familiar cousins.
- English readers see the j and say it as in jam, which is wrong in every source language.
- Maya is the standard English spelling and will be written for her.
- Maria's own meaning is genuinely unknown.
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What they receive
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Maja
Feminine · #3712 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Majas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,000 people named Maja are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Maja in 2025?
- Maja ranks #3712 among US girl names in 2025, with 40 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Maja?
- About 1 in every 40,182 US girls born in 2025 was named Maja — 40 in all.
- Will my child share the name Maja with classmates?
- Maja will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Maja
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Monet#3712 · Barrett#3712 · October#3712 · Aubrianna#3712 · Mishka#3712 · Berkleigh#3712 · Zailey#3712 · Ora#3712
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Maja? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Maja and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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