Maj
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name shortened from Maja ( =Maria), also associated with the month May (maj). A common part of hyphenated given names such as Maj-Britt, Maj-Lis.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Maj (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Maj has been rising over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2021. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 13 |
| 2005 | 5 |
| 2006 | 10 |
| 2007 | 14 |
| 2008 | 9 |
| 2009 | 18 |
| 2010 | 21 |
| 2011 | 24 |
| 2012 | 30 |
| 2013 | 31 |
| 2014 | 44 |
| 2015 | 33 |
| 2016 | 55 |
| 2017 | 39 |
| 2018 | 52 |
| 2019 | 46 |
| 2020 | 60 |
| 2021 | 68 |
| 2022 | 52 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 17,765 |
| 2000 | 17,219 |
| 2001 | 16,675 |
| 2002 | 16,148 |
| 2003 | 15,649 |
| 2004 | 15,115 |
| 2005 | 14,543 |
| 2006 | 13,985 |
| 2007 | 13,472 |
| 2008 | 12,934 |
| 2009 | 12,388 |
| 2010 | 11,875 |
| 2011 | 11,395 |
| 2012 | 10,893 |
| 2013 | 10,405 |
| 2014 | 9,955 |
| 2015 | 9,468 |
| 2016 | 9,030 |
| 2017 | 8,601 |
| 2018 | 8,183 |
| 2019 | 7,762 |
| 2020 | 7,319 |
Maj in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Maj.Hi! My name is Maj.
- Maj ringde och sa att hon blir lite sen.Maj called and said she'll be a bit late.
- Maj har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Maj has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Majs mamma är lärare.Maj's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Majs mamma is Maj's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Maj
How do you pronounce Maj in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Maj from a native speaker's recording. J is said like the English y.
What does the name Maj mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name shortened from Maja ( =Maria), also associated with the month May (maj). A common part of hyphenated given names such as Maj-Britt, Maj-Lis.
How popular is Maj in Sweden?
52 babies were named Maj in 2022. In 2020, 7,319 people in Sweden had Maj as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been rising lately and peaked in 2021 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.