Given name
Marfa
“lady”
Marfa is a variant of Martha. One Aramaic interpretation is “lady.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Marfa is a variant of Martha. One Aramaic interpretation is “lady.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Marfa is a variant of Martha. An origin associated with Martha is Aramaic.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1970. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Marfa is a variant of Martha. The history of Martha gives this family its wider story. In biblical stories, Martha is associated with the sister of Lazarus and Mary.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Marfa through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 10
- 0 boys · 10 girls
- Most popular year
- 1970
- 5 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 1971. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 142 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Marfa’s family of names
In English usage, Marfa shares an earlier linguistic root with Martha. In English usage, Marfa has a conventional equivalent in the Russian form Марфа. Marfa has a related form in Martha.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Marfa
- Marfa Boretskayapolitician1450–1503
- Marfa SobakinaTsarina of all Russia1552–1571
- Marfa Alekseyevna of RussiaRussian princess (1652-1707)
- Marfa KryukovaStoryteller, folklore performer1876–1954
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Marfa, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Marti
“dedicated to Mars, the god of war” · “lady”
18% boys · 82% girls
Martita
“lady”
>99% girls
Marites
Marites is a feminine given name from Spanish, ultimately from Biblical Hebrew. It is used in Tagalog and Cebuano.
>99% girls
Denna
>99% girls
Mata
“lady” · “gift of God”
>99% girls
Shelah
“missionary” · “emissary”
>99% girls
Tiria
“reverence” · “fear”
>99% girls
Rechell
“ewe”
>99% girls