Kesja
From Hebrew, tied to cassia, the cinnamon-like spice. Most Poles have never met one: only a few hundred women carry it, and last year barely a handful of girls were given it.
Kesja Pronunciation
Kesja is pronounced KES-yah (/ˈkɛsja/).
What Kesja means
Where Kesja comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Kesja comes from Hebrew, where its root lies in the word qetsiah, the name of a spice we know as cassia. Cassia is a bark close to cinnamon, prized for its warm scent. In the Book of Job, one of Job's daughters is called Keziah, born after his fortunes were restored (Job 42:14). Polish took that biblical name and shortened it into Kesja.
The tie to fragrance stayed. Its short Polish gloss is kasja, and beside it miły zapach, a pleasant smell, an association that came from the spice and not from any Polish word.
Kesja is rare in Poland. On an official form at the urząd it stands alone, without the diminutives that trail names like Katarzyna or Magdalena. There is no cross-gender pair, no ready ladder of pet forms. What the name holds onto is its old sense: cassia, the cinnamon-like spice.
How many people are named Kesja
1 in 66896 women in Poland is named Kesja. 337 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #1639 among female names.
Kesja's popularity over time
2 girls were given the name in 2025, ranking #1641 among newborns. It has been falling steadily since 2000. Still the #1639 name among living women, even as it slips to #1641 among newborns.
Where Kesja is most popular
Kesja is most popular in Pomeranian, 1367% above the national average (2 girls born 2019–2025).
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Pomeranian2 girls born+1367%
Kesja as a middle name
Kesja is a first name for 337 women in Poland and a middle name for another 70, an 83/17 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 805th, between Joyce (70) and Lina (70).
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#803 Amelie70
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#804 Joyce70
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#805 Kesja70
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#806 Lina70
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#807 Fabiana69