Before World War II the name was rare but it became very fashionable in the 1980s; at that time a third of all women named Maja who are still alive today were born. Parents of newborn girls selected the name most frequently in 1979–1985 and in 1988–1991. In these periods Maja was the top name for newborn girls.
Before that, in the 1970s, there was a break in the naming tradition; Marija, which was the most common name given to girls born by 1969, dropped to 22nd place and Maja jumped to 8th place. The name Maja gradually became more popular and took over the role of the name Marija. Maja was among the top ten names given to newborn girls until 2005.
In Slovenia 16% of all women named Maja, i.e. one in six, were born in May. This is the most in all months of the year and about twice as many as in other months, indicating the connection of the name with the month. In his book "Vse o imenih v Sloveniji" (All About Names in Slovenia) Lenarčič as well states »but the connection with the name of the month is definitely also the result of the fact that the month of May is dedicated to Marija.« Further on in his book Lenarčič states also that the name Maja originates from the German (and Scandinavian) name which is a short form of the name Marija and the name of the Roman goddess of fertility Maia.
In 2016 most women named Maja lived in the Osrednjeslovenska statistical region, where the name was the third most common (as it was at the national level). It was also the third most common in the Gorenjska and Zasavska statistical regions. In other regions, too, Maja was among the top eight female names. The only exception was the Pomurska statistical region, where it was 16th. However, this is not surprising since there are large differences in the most common names between the north-eastern part of Slovenia and the rest of the country (see also the Interactive Database Names and Birthdays).
At the beginning of 2016 there were also 50 women named Maya and 7 women named Maia living in Slovenia.
Maj is becoming an increasingly popular name
By 1994 the name Maj, which derives from the name of the fifth month, was very rarely given to newborn boys, but then it began to be increasingly popular. In 2003 for the first time over a hundred boys were named Maj; after that the number never dropped below 100 per year.
At the beginning of 2016, 1,884 men named Maj were living in Slovenia, making Maj the 118th most common male name in the country; among men born after 2000 it was the 22nd most common. On average a man named Maj was just over 8 years old.
Most men named Maj were born in the month of May, 19%.
At the beginning of 2016 there were also 291 men named Mai living in Slovenia.
Martina Žnidaršič, Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia
