Martha

Martha meaning

Martha is a Christian and international girl's name of Aramaic origin.

Lady, mistress (of the house); probably Aramaic, by Strong's

Martha comes from the Aramaic spoken in Jesus' time. Strong's Concordance calls the New Testament Martha "probably of Chaldee origin", meaning Aramaic, and gives the sense "mistress", the lady of a household; name lists give "lady", in the same sense. Martha of Bethany is the sister of Mary and Lazarus. In Luke's Gospel she busies herself with serving when Jesus visits, while Mary sits listening at his feet (Luke 10:38–42), and in John's Gospel she declares her faith in him before he raises her brother Lazarus from the dead (John 11). Martha is used in Christian families in India, and the forms Marta and Marthe are found in Europe.

Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), Greek Dictionary of the New Testament, G3136 · entry Martha · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026

References: Strong's Greek 3136, Martha (Bible Hub) · Luke 10 (KJV, Bible Hub) · John 11 (KJV, Bible Hub)

Famous namesakes

• Martha of Bethany, sister of Mary and Lazarus

Popularity abroad

• #713 United States, girls 2025 (down 47 from 666 in 2024)
  US Social Security Administration
• #164 England and Wales, girls 2025
  Office for National Statistics

Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.

Spellings

Martha · Marta

Related names

Also starting with Mar-

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