Meaning
Not yet published for this spelling.
A LITTLE UNCOMMON. ENTIRELY YOURS.
Kaija
Meaning, origin and pronunciation, with published usage by place and year.
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Origin
Finnish diminutive or vernacular form of Katariina.
The exact Finnish personal-name etymology documents the Katariina route and relates it to Estonian Kaia. This relationship does not settle the older Catherine-family root or assign a literal meaning by itself.
English pronunciation
Not yet published for this spelling.
Published name usage
Counts apply only to the exact spelling, place, year and recorded usage shown. Places are separate; these figures are never added into a worldwide total. Missing or suppressed records never mean zero.
| Place | Year | Recorded usage | Published births | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 2020 | Girls | 6 | 2873 | 2025 figures are preliminary. Quebec counts below five are randomly imputed by the publisher before national aggregation. Accents are removed in the source; this profile was matched only where the catalog spelling was unambiguous. Unpublished values are unknown, not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| England & Wales | 2002 | Girls | 5 | 2868 | Historical source: not all years independently cross-checked. Rank basis: source published. |
| United States | 2025 | Girls | 14 | 7491 | Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: calculated from published counts. |
Canada, Ireland and France coverage includes confidently matched existing profiles only; unmatched spellings are awaiting review. French counts are rounded to five.
Sources & notes
Open an entry for its source, credit, licence and full qualifications. Different name traditions remain separate.
Language of use: Finnish
Checked against cited source
The Finnish section explicitly documents female personal-name use. This does not classify any separate same-spelled surname sense as a given-name tradition. Credit: Wiktionary contributors, exact personal-name entries. Sources: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Kaija&oldid=92174001. License: CC BY-SA 4.0. Rights and license links: CC BY-SA 4.0 for Wiktionary-derived material (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Adaptation: Rare Baby Names summarized only the documented relationship or language-specific account. No biography, literary passage, photograph or audio reproduced; distinct traditions and statistics remain separate.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Pronunciation in the source language: Finnish: /ˈkɑi̯jɑ/
Checked against cited source
The Finnish personal-name entry supplies this reading. The first vowel combination is a diphthong; the reading is not an English transcription. Credit: Wiktionary contributors, exact personal-name entries. Sources: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Kaija&oldid=92174001. License: CC BY-SA 4.0. Rights and license links: CC BY-SA 4.0 for Wiktionary-derived material (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Adaptation: Rare Baby Names summarized only the documented relationship or language-specific account. No biography, literary passage, photograph or audio reproduced; distinct traditions and statistics remain separate.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Short form of: Katariina
Checked against cited source
The Finnish entry explicitly describes this diminutive or vernacular formation. This is a short form of another name, not a direct nickname for Kaija and not a literal meaning. Credit: Wiktionary contributors, exact personal-name entries. Sources: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Kaija&oldid=92174001. License: CC BY-SA 4.0. Rights and license links: CC BY-SA 4.0 for Wiktionary-derived material (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Adaptation: Rare Baby Names summarized only the documented relationship or language-specific account. No biography, literary passage, photograph or audio reproduced; distinct traditions and statistics remain separate.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin: Finnish diminutive or vernacular form of Katariina.
Checked against cited source
The exact Finnish personal-name etymology documents the Katariina route and relates it to Estonian Kaia. This relationship does not settle the older Catherine-family root or assign a literal meaning by itself. Credit: Wiktionary contributors, exact personal-name entries. Sources: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Kaija&oldid=92174001. License: CC BY-SA 4.0. Rights and license links: CC BY-SA 4.0 for Wiktionary-derived material (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Adaptation: Rare Baby Names summarized only the documented relationship or language-specific account. No biography, literary passage, photograph or audio reproduced; distinct traditions and statistics remain separate.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Related name: Kaia
Checked against cited source
The exact Finnish personal-name etymology identifies Estonian Kaia as a cognate. Language-specific readings and population series remain separate. Credit: Wiktionary contributors, exact personal-name entries. Sources: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Kaija&oldid=92174001; https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Kaia&oldid=85763941. License: CC BY-SA 4.0. Rights and license links: CC BY-SA 4.0 for Wiktionary-derived material (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Adaptation: Rare Baby Names summarized only the documented relationship or language-specific account. No biography, literary passage, photograph or audio reproduced; distinct traditions and statistics remain separate.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
country_CA
View statistics source (link unavailable)
Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence
Attribution: Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence
License: Open Government Licence v3.0
U.S. Social Security Administration
Attribution: U.S. Social Security Administration
Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0147-01, 1991–2025, released 23 September 2026.
Credit: Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0147-01, 1991–2025, released 23 September 2026.
License: Statistics Canada Open Licence
Adaptation: Adapted from Statistics Canada, First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators, Table 17-10-0147-01, reference years 1991–2025. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.