Maja
Of Slavic origin, meaning "the goddess of spring and birth".
Name Census estimates that about 1,952 living Americans carry the first name Maja. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Maja today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maja births was 2009 (84 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maja. 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 Maja with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.0K
~ 1 in 175,591 Americans
Peak year
2009
84 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,001
Tracked since 1953
Census
Maja in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,054 people with the first name Maja, which placed it at #5,561 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
#5,561
National first-name rank
People counted
3.1K
3,054 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
87.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maja
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maja is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Black (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Maja 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 Maja at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.0% · 2,658
- Black or African American3.9% · 119
- Two or more races3.6% · 109
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 100
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 64
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Popularity
Maja: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maja from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 639 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Maja remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maja 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 Maja during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Majas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Illinois, California, New York recorded the most babies named Maja, while Michigan, Texas, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 52 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maja
The name Maja has its origins in the Sanskrit language, where it was derived from the word "maya," meaning "illusion" or "magic." This name was popularized in ancient Indian texts, such as the Upanishads and the Vedas, which explored the concept of maya and its role in the spiritual realm.
In the Hindu tradition, Maja was also associated with the divine feminine energy, often personified as the goddess Mahamaya, who was revered for her ability to create and sustain the universe. This connection to the sacred feminine likely contributed to the name's enduring appeal and its widespread use across various cultures and regions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Maja can be found in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata, where it was used for a minor character. However, the name gained greater prominence during the medieval period, particularly in the works of Islamic scholars and philosophers who explored the concept of maya and its metaphysical implications.
Throughout history, the name Maja has been borne by numerous notable individuals, including Maja the Blasphemer, a 7th-century Byzantine heretic who challenged the orthodox teachings of the Christian church. In the realm of literature, Maja Möller was a Swedish author and playwright of the 18th century, known for her satirical works that critiqued societal norms.
In the world of art, Maja Desnuda (1797-1799) and Maja Vestida (1800-1808) are two celebrated paintings by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya, depicting a reclining nude figure and the same model in traditional clothing, respectively. These works have become iconic representations of Spanish culture and the artistic expression of the time.
Another prominent figure with the name Maja was Maja Trochimczyk (1957-2015), a Polish-American music historian and composer who made significant contributions to the study of contemporary music and its intersection with various cultural traditions.
Lastly, Maja Kastelic (born 1981) is a contemporary Slovenian actress and filmmaker, known for her roles in critically acclaimed films such as "Slovenian Girl" and "Inferno," which have garnered international recognition and acclaim.
While the name Maja has its roots in ancient Sanskrit and Hindu traditions, it has transcended cultural boundaries and continues to be embraced by individuals from diverse backgrounds, reflecting the enduring appeal and rich history of this name.
People
Maja + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maja as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Maja: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maja?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,952 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maja 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 175,591 US residents.
Is Maja a common name?
We classify Maja as "Rare". It ranks above 93.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,009 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maja most popular?
The single biggest year for Maja was 2009, when 84 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maja is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Maja in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,054 people with the name Maja, or 1.01 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,561 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 Maja 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 Maja?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Maja appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,065 people counted with this name, 99.0% 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 Maja?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maja is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Black (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Maja most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Maja in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.0% (2,658 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 Maja in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maja a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maja 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 Maja still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maja 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 Maja 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 many Americans are named Maja?
See how many Americans are named Maja on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.