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Magda

girl name
Origin
Polish
Syllables
2
Peak era
Rare
Today
▬ Steady

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Meaning

short form of Magdalena ('woman of Magdala'), fully standalone in Poland

The story

Magda is a short form that became complete in its own right across Polish, German, Dutch, Scandinavian, Czech, Slovak, and several other European languages. It usually comes from Magdalena, meaning a woman from Magdala, the town associated with Mary Magdalene in the New Testament. The place name itself may come from a Semitic word for tower. An Arabic name also written Magda has a separate history, so shared Latin letters do not make the two routes identical. On this site's American curve the European Magda appears only sparsely, with small traces around the 1970s and 1980s and again in the 2020s. That low line says little about Poland, where Magda is familiar and fully usable. Its strength is compression: the history of Magdalena retained in two clean syllables without requiring the longer form.

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The formal names behind Magda

Magda is an established short form of this name.

Magdalena · Polish origin · woman from Magdala (biblical)

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How popular is Magda around the world?

In the United States, 74 babies were named Magda between 2020 and 2025. At the 2022 census, 31,425 people in Brazil were named Magda, the 789th most common name, with a median age of 49.

Magda is on the official records of the United States, Brazil, Poland, Chile, Spain, France, Mexico City and Argentina.

United States

1 in 290,000

In the United States, 74 babies were named Magda between 2020 and 2025.

1890srare in US records2020s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Magda has stayed rare in US records the whole time: no peak decade to name.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

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Brazil

1 in 6,500

At the 2022 census, 31,425 people in Brazil were named Magda, the 789th most common name, with a median age of 49.
Among people named Magda living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1970s than in any other decade.

1930speak 1970s2010s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

The census also counted 53 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

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Poland

1 in 13,000

In Poland, 19 girls named Magda were born in 2025, the 259th most common name among girls that year.

peak 20002025

share of that year’s name registrations

First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

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Chile

1 in 18,000

In Chile, 10 girls were registered as Magda in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.

1920peak 19542021

share of that year’s name registrations

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

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Spain

1 in 54,000

In Spain, 826 residents are named Magda, ranked 1,685th among women, with a mean age of 53.2 years.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

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France

1 in 64,000

In France, about 10 girls named Magda were born in 2025, ranked 2,822nd among girls that year.

1900peak 19792025

share of that year’s births on record

Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

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Mexico City City

1 in 120,000

In Mexico City, there was 1 registration of Magda in 2022.

peak 20002022

share of that year’s registrations in the city

Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

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Argentina

1 in 130,000

In Argentina, 5 newborns were given the name Magda in 2024.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.

Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024

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Austria

last on record 2024

Magda is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

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Canada

last on record 2014

Magda is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

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England and Wales

last on record 2023

Magda is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

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Ireland

last on record 2010

Magda is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

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Montevideo City

last on record 2009

Magda is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

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Norway

last on record 1995

Magda is not on the 2025 record for Norway, where names carried by fewer than 4 people in a year are withheld at source.

peak 19522025

share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure

People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)

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Scotland

last on record 2011

Magda is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

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South Australia

last on record 1993

Magda is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

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Not on the record in Puerto Rico and New Zealand: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Magda

People given the name Magda in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1960 to 1999. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Magda

Eliza Kate Annmarie Janina Jill Gwen

Keep exploring

Polish baby names

Name trails: explore connections from Magda →

The Magda deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Magda truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Magda fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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