Naja

Meaning & origin●

Attested in 1 language in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Naja is also recorded as 3 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name2.4K records spelled Naja3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Mexico, Argentina, Philippines

  Also written Ñaja, Najá

• Thai given name1.4K records spelled Naja21 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Thailand, United States, India, Malaysia

  Languages: Thai, Lao

  Also written Najah, นาจา, นาจ๋า, นาจะ, นาจ่า

• a separate given name1.2K records spelled Naja3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, United States, Ethiopia

  Also written Nāj̱a, Najā

56 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Naja is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In German, aus Grönland entlehnter wdbl. Vom. mit der Bedeutung »kleine Schwester«.

  as a name·DUDEN Lexikon der Vornamen

• In Russian, var of Nadzha.

  as a word·A Dictionary of Period Russian Names (Wickenden / Goldschmidt 1996)

• In tut-pro, to envy, wish

  as a word·StarLing Tower of Babel etymological databases (Starostin et al.)

• In German, (oh) well

  as a word·A Frequency Dictionary of German

• In Italian, alternative form of naia (“compulsory military conscription”)

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 52 years between 1964–2023. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Naja Saltob. 1945DKDanish textile artist
• Naja Lyberthb. 1962GLpsychologist in Greenland
• Naja Marie Aidtb. 1963GLDanish-language poet and writer (born 1963)
• Naja Abelsenb. 1964DKDanish-Greenlandic painter and illustrator
• Naja Kristensenb. 1968GLGreenlandic politician
• Naja Holten Møllerb. 1978Danish rower
• Naja Rosab. 1980DKDanish singer-songwriter
• Naja Mohamedb. 1996EGbadminton player
• Naja Bahrenscheerb. 1996DKDanish association football player
• Naja Hulvej Rodb. 2000DKresearcher

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 374 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Naja?

We estimate roughly 6.3 thousand people bear Naja (counting its spellings and scripts) across 11 countries in our records.

In which country does Naja have the most bearers?

We estimate about 3.4 thousand people bear Naja in Denmark, more than in any other country in our records.

Where is Naja most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Naja is densest in Slovenia — about 1 in 1.7 thousand people — even though Denmark holds more of our records for it.

Is Naja a male or female name?

Naja is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Naja mean?

Recorded meaning: Somali/Muslim: 'success'