Given name
Irja
Irja is a feminine given name from German. It is used in Finnish and Estonian.
Meaning & origin
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1910. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Irja through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 156
- 0 boys · 156 girls
- Most popular year
- 1918
- 20 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 1930. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 20 in 1918.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Irja’s family of names
In Finnish usage, Irja shares a linguistic root with the English form George. In Finnish usage, Irja has a related form in ARJA.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Irja
- Irja AskolaFinnish bishopborn 1952
- Irja Agnes BrowalliusSwedish writer (1901–1968)
- Irja Seurujärvi-KariFinnish Sámi politician, lecturer, researcher,born 1947
- Irja HagforsFinnish dancer1905–1988
- Irja LutsarEstonian microbiologist, virologist (born 1954)
- Irja KoskinenFinnish ballet dancer (1911-1978)
- Jonna JärnefeltFinnish actress and singerborn 1964
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Irja, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Ilma
“determined protector”
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Irma
“a universal woman”
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Erma
“one who is complete; universal”
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Ida
“a king”
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Elma
“having God's protection”
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Frieda
“a peaceful ruler”
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Minna
“determined protector” · “one who is resolute; having great strength”
>99% girls
Tilda
“one who is mighty in battle”
>99% girls