Anja
A feminine given name of German origin meaning "grace".
Name Census estimates that about 2,672 living Americans carry the first name Anja. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Anja today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Anja births was 2006 (122 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Anja. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Anja with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.7K
~ 1 in 128,276 Americans
Peak year
2006
122 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,266
Tracked since 1962
Census
Anja in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,106 people with the first name Anja, which placed it at #4,510 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#4,510
National first-name rank
People counted
4.1K
4,106 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
84.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Anja
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Anja is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and Black (4.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Anja described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Anja at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.6% · 3,475
- Two or more races5.0% · 204
- Black or African American4.2% · 171
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 160
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 81
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 15
Popularity
Anja: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Anja from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 872 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Anja by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Anja during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Anjas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. California, Minnesota, Illinois recorded the most babies named Anja, while Utah, Oregon, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 48 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Anja
The name Anja has its origins in the Sanskrit language and is derived from the word "anaya," meaning "grace" or "favor." It is a feminine name that has been used across various cultures and regions, particularly in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Anja can be traced back to ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, where it was used to refer to goddesses and divine feminine entities associated with beauty, grace, and prosperity. It is believed that the name gained popularity in parts of Eastern Europe and Russia due to the influence of Sanskrit-derived languages and cultural exchange along trade routes.
In the medieval period, the name Anja was commonly used in parts of modern-day Germany, Poland, and the Baltic regions. It was particularly popular among the nobility and aristocracy, with several noblewomen bearing the name. One notable figure was Anja von Wettin (1292-1363), a German princess and member of the House of Wettin, a prominent royal dynasty.
During the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods, the name Anja continued to be used across various parts of Europe. One notable figure was Anja Elisabet Varnhagen (1677-1736), a Swedish writer and poet who gained recognition for her literary works and contributions to the cultural landscape of her time.
In more recent history, the name Anja has been associated with several notable individuals across various fields. Anja Niedringhaus (1965-2014) was a renowned German photojournalist who worked for the Associated Press and was tragically killed while covering the war in Afghanistan. Anja Rubik (born 1983) is a Polish model and philanthropist who has graced the covers of numerous fashion magazines and has been involved in various charitable initiatives.
Anja Silja (born 1940) is a German operatic soprano who has performed on major opera stages around the world and is renowned for her interpretations of Wagner's works. Anja Fichtel (born 1966) is a German cyclist who has won multiple Olympic and World Championship medals in track cycling events.
Anja Pärson (born 1981) is a Swedish former alpine ski racer who achieved immense success on the international circuit, winning numerous World Cup titles and Olympic gold medals in her career. These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Anja throughout history.
People
Anja + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Anja as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Anja: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Anja?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,672 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Anja going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 128,276 US residents.
Is Anja a common name?
We classify Anja as "Rare". It ranks above 94.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,761 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Anja most popular?
The single biggest year for Anja was 2006, when 122 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Anja is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Anja in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,106 people with the name Anja, or 1.36 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,510 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Anja in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Anja?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Anja appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,102 people counted with this name, 99.5% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Anja?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Anja is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and Black (4.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Anja most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Anja in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.6% (3,475 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Anja in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Anja a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Anja in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Anja still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Anja in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Anja can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Anja?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.