Home › Baby Names Directory › Marija
Marija
How to Pronounce Marija
Pronounced muh-REE-yuh /məˈriː.jə/Medium
Meaning: Marija is the standard spelling of Maria across many Slavic and Baltic languages, including Serbian, Croatian, Lithuanian and Latvian, where the j marks a soft y-glide. It carries the deep history of Maria and Miriam, the Hebrew name whose meanings have been read as beloved, bitter and, in Christian tradition, the mother of Jesus.Medium
Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Marija is the form Maria takes in many Slavic and Baltic languages, where the letter j gives a soft y-sound. Through Maria it reaches back to the Hebrew Miriam, a name of the New Testament mother of Jesus and read variously as beloved or bitter. In the United States Marija appears in birth records with families of Balkan and Baltic heritage, showing a modest high around the late two-thousands as immigration and international marriages brought the spelling over.
It has stayed uncommon in American use, given to only a couple dozen girls a year at its peak, even though Maria itself is a classic. For heritage families Marija is a living traditional name rather than a trend, keeping the exact spelling used back home.
Variations
Nicknames
Famous Bearers
- Famous bearers coming soon.
If you like Marija…
Explore names like Marija
Frequently Asked
What does the name Marija mean?
It is the Slavic and Baltic form of Maria, from the Hebrew name Miriam.
How do you pronounce Marija?
It's said muh-REE-yuh /məˈriː.jə/, three syllables stressed in the middle.
Is Marija a boy or girl name?
Marija is used as a girl's name.
How popular is Marija?
It has stayed uncommon in the United States, given to only a couple dozen girls a year at its late-two-thousands high.