Magda
From Greek, the name marks a woman of Magdala. Around 18,000 Polish women carry it, but it's slipping out of use: just 19 newborn girls last year, fewer than in years past.
Magda Pronunciation
Magda is pronounced MAHG-dah (/ˈmagda/).
What Magda means
Where Magda comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Magda is a short form of Magdalena, and both reach back through Greek to Magdala, a town on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The name means woman of Magdala. Greek passed the place name on as Magdalēnē, and Polish later trimmed it to the two blunt syllables of Magda.
For centuries the longer Magdalena did the ceremonial work while Magda handled ordinary days. A girl might write Magdalena on a form at the urząd and answer to Magda in the school register. The variant Marta stands nearby, another name from the same New Testament world, so the two sometimes appear as sisters on a Polish family tree.
The name-day falls on 22 July, shared by every Magdalena and Magda. Underneath the short sound, the old meaning holds: a woman of Magdala.
When Magda celebrates name day
Magda appears 1 time in the Polish name day calendar, 1 of them as a main name, the first on 25 May.
The days Polish calendars list this name on. By custom you celebrate one of them, usually the first after your birthday.
How many people are named Magda
1 in 1226 women in Poland is named Magda. 18,385 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #286 among female names.
Magda's popularity over time
19 girls were given the name in 2025, ranking #521 among newborns. It has been falling steadily since 2000. Still the #286 name among living women, even as it slips to #521 among newborns.
Where Magda is most popular
Magda is most popular in Podlaskie, 147% above the national average (18 girls born 2019–2025), followed by Opole (+116%) and West Pomeranian (+61%). It is least common in Subcarpathian and Kuyavian-Pomeranian, 85% and 42% below average respectively.
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Podlaskie18 girls born+147%
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Opole11 girls born+116%
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West Pomeranian15 girls born+61%
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Lublin17 girls born+50%
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Pomeranian22 girls born+35%
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Warmian-Masurian10 girls born+26%
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Silesian30 girls born+19%
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Masovian44 girls born+12%
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Lubusz5 girls born−9%
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Greater Poland17 girls born−29%
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Łódź10 girls born−29%
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Lower Silesian12 girls born−31%
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Świętokrzyskie4 girls born−35%
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Lesser Poland15 girls born−40%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian7 girls born−42%
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Subcarpathian2 girls born−85%
Magda as a middle name
Magda is a first name for 18,385 women in Poland and a middle name for another 7,098, a 72/28 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 125th, between Roksana (7,416) and Luiza (7,012).
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#123 Adrianna7,536
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#124 Roksana7,416
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#125 Magda7,098
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#126 Luiza7,012
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#127 Aldona6,846