Marija
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly from Latin or Greek.
Name Census estimates that about 496 living Americans carry the first name Marija. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marija today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marija births was 2008 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marija. 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 Marija with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
496
~ 1 in 691,037 Americans
Peak year
2008
21 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,758
Tracked since 1962
Census
Marija in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,424 people with the first name Marija, which placed it at #6,576 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
#6,576
National first-name rank
People counted
2.4K
2,424 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
96.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marija
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marija is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.3%) and Black (1.1%). 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 Marija 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 Marija at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.2% · 2,331
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 31
- Black or African American1.1% · 26
- Two or more races0.7% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Popularity
Marija: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marija 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 124 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
Marija 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 Marija during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marijas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Marija
The name Marija is derived from the Hebrew name Miryam, which is believed to have originated from the ancient Egyptian words "mr" meaning "beloved" and "ym" meaning "sea". This name has been widely used across various cultures and religions for centuries.
In the New Testament of the Bible, Marija is the name given to the mother of Jesus Christ, and she is considered one of the most important figures in Christianity. This association has contributed significantly to the widespread use of the name among Christian communities around the world.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Marija can be found in ancient Greek texts from the 5th century BC, where it was written as "Maria". During the Roman Empire, the name was also popular and was often used by both Christians and non-Christians alike.
Throughout history, there have been numerous notable individuals who bore the name Marija. One of the earliest was Maria of Alania (c. 1150-1190), a Byzantine princess and regent who ruled over the Kingdom of Georgia during the 12th century.
Another famous Marija was Maria Theresa (1717-1780), the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last Holy Roman Empress. She is credited with implementing significant reforms and modernizing the Austrian Empire.
In the realm of science, Maria Skłodowska-Curie (1867-1934), a Polish physicist and chemist, made groundbreaking contributions to the study of radioactivity and was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.
The name Marija has also been associated with artistic excellence, as exemplified by Maria Callas (1923-1977), one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century, known for her powerful and expressive performances.
Lastly, Maria Montessori (1870-1952), an Italian physician and educator, pioneered a revolutionary method of education for young children that emphasizes child-centered learning and independence, which has had a lasting impact on educational practices worldwide.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Marija
People
Marija + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marija 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
Marija: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marija?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 496 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marija 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 691,037 US residents.
Is Marija a common name?
We classify Marija as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 519 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marija most popular?
The single biggest year for Marija was 2008, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marija is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marija in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,424 people with the name Marija, or 0.80 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,576 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 Marija 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 Marija?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marija appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,424 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Marija?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marija is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.3%) and Black (1.1%). 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 Marija most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Marija in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.2% (2,331 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 Marija in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marija a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marija 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 Marija still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marija 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 Marija 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 people are named Marija?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.