Katja

Did you know?

A few things about Katja you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Katja

Katja Riemann

German actress

Choose Katja and your child shares a first name with Katja Riemann, a German actress. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Katja, like who?” Katja Riemann's Wikipedia article is available in 38 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Katja Riemann on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Superbass, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 322,581 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Katja, 5 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Katja would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryKatja first shows up in US birth records in 1963, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 62 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1998, when it ranked #2,756. Today it's #14,942, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📉Then vs nowKatja was 5.2× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 62,500 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 322,581.
• 🍂TrendKatja has slipped 4,692 places over the last five years and now sits at #14,942. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 💬MeaningKatja is a German form of Katherine, which means “pure”. Our records link it to Estonian, German and Greek roots.
• 🌍OriginKatja is the #4 most popular Estonian girl name in the US. That's out of 18 Estonian girl and unisex names in our list.

About the name Katja

Katja is a girl name of Estonian, German and Greek origin meaning “pure”. It has 5 letters and 2 syllables, starting with K and ending in “-tja”. US birth records list Katja for girls from 1963 to 2025, in 62 of those 63 years. Its best year was 1998, when it ranked #2,756 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #14,942, with 5 babies.

Origin:Estonian namesGerman namesGreek names