Girl · #12,688 in 2026

Marja

Marja is a female given name, a Finnish, Sámi and Dutch form of Mary. It also means "berry" in Finnish. In Finnish the normal form of Mary is Maria; the pronunciations of Maria ['maria] and Marja ['marja] are identical, if the /-ria/ is pronounced as diphthong in as usual in rapid speech: [mari̯a]. As of December 2012, 53,000 people are registered with this name in Finland.

  • Finnish
  • Sorbian
  • Dutch
  • Sami
Current Rank
#12,688
Peak Rank
#2,092 (1978)
Total Babies
437
5-Yr Trend
Stable
1921
First Year
1999
Last Year
1978
Peak Year
#2092
Peak Rank
437
Total Count
45
Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Marja

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Marja is a female given name, a Finnish, Sámi and Dutch form of Mary. It also means "berry" in Finnish. In Finnish the normal form of Mary is Maria; the pronunciations of Maria ['maria] and Marja ['marja] are identical, if the /-ria/ is pronounced as diphthong in as usual in rapid speech: [mari̯a]. As of December 2012, 53,000 people are registered with this name in Finland.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)

  • Finnish
  • Sorbian
  • Dutch
  • Sami

The Story of Marja

American parents first put Marja on the record books as a baby girl name in 1921, with 5 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 1978, when 45 Marjas were born — ranking #2,092 that year. About 26% of every Marja on record arrived during the 1980s, its defining decade. Marja last appeared in the published SSA data in 1999, with 6 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 437 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1920s to the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

ME
WA
MT
ND
MN
WI
MI
NY
VT
NH
MA
OR
ID
SD
IA
IL
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
NV
WY
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
DC
UT
CO
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
AK
AZ
NM
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
HI
TX
FL
Top 10
11-50
51-100
101-500
500+
No data

Variants & Related Forms of Marja

Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Marja. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Notable people named Marja

A small selection from Wikipedia. Tap "Read more" below to see the full list on Wikipedia.

  • Marja van Bijsterveldt (born 1961), Dutch politician
  • Marja Heikkilä (born 1977), Finnish freestyle swimmer
  • Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi (born 1955), Finnish cross country skier
  • Marja Kok (born 1944), Dutch actress
  • Marja Lahti (1901–1967), Finnish politician
  • Marja Lehto (born 1959), Finnish diplomat
  • Marja Lehtonen (born 1968), Finnish bodybuilder
  • Marja-Liisa Löyttyjärvi (born 1949), Finnish engineer and politician

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Names that sound like Marja

Phonetically similar names — useful when Marja is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Marja

What does the name Marja mean?
Marja is a female given name, a Finnish, Sámi and Dutch form of Mary. It also means "berry" in Finnish. In Finnish the normal form of Mary is Maria; the pronunciations of Maria ['maria] and Marja ['marja] are identical, if the /-ria/ is pronounced as diphthong in as usual in rapid speech: [mari̯a]. As of December 2012, 53,000 people are registered with this name in Finland.
What is the origin of the name Marja?
Marja has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: Finnish, Sorbian, Dutch, Sami.
How popular is Marja in 2026?
In 2026, Marja ranks #12,688 among girls' names in the U.S., with 6 babies given the name that year.
When was Marja most popular?
Marja reached its peak popularity in 1978, ranking #2,092 that year with 45 babies given the name.
In which U.S. states is Marja most popular?
Marja has historically been most popular in Texas, California. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Marja.
Is Marja a unisex name?
In U.S. Social Security records, Marja is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.
What names go well with Marja?
Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Marja include Kamie, Akisha, Aziza. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.
What are nicknames or variants of Marja?
Common variants and related forms of Marja include Maaike, Maaria, Maarika, Maija, Maila, Mari. These cover foreign-language equivalents, alternate spellings, and short forms.

Similar Names

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Aziza
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Isley
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About the name Marja

Marja is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1921 and has accumulated 437 births in the dataset. Marja's peak popularity came in 1978 when it ranked #2,092. Use the chart and map above to compare Marja's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

  • Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
  • Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
  • Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
  • Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
  • Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.