Deja

The female given name Deja is basically an American invention coined from the familiar concept of “déjà vu” (the feeling or sensation that one has already experienced the current moment at some point in the past). In this case, the French term “déjà vu” literally translates to “already seen” (“déjà” by itself means “already”). It’s a name used almost exclusively by Americans and was especially popular among southerners during the 1990s. Part of the driving force behind Deja’s success in the mid-1990s may have been inspired by a popular country music single titled “Deja Blue” (released by Billy Ray Cyrus in November 1994). We also know Deja became a top favorite baby girl’s name among African-Americans during the latter half of the 1990s as evidenced by the states where the name saw most of her popular usage (states with a high concentration of African-Americans such as the District of Columbia, Maryland, Delaware, South Carolina, Louisiana and Mississippi). Although Deja is mainly connected to the French word for “already”, we should mention that our translation dictionaries also provide meanings in other languages. For instance, “deja” is a verb that means “leaves” in Spanish. In Lithuanian, “deja” is an adverb meaning “unfortunately” (i.e., “Deja!” is the Lithuanian equivalent to “Alas!”), and in Slovakian “deja” means “to plot, do something, act.” Finally, some people may be naming their daughters Deja as a short form of Dejanira, from the Greek Δηϊάνειρα, meaning “man-destroyer” or “she who destroys her husband”. Apropos, in ancient Greek mythology, Dejanira was the second wife of the most celebrated hero known as Hercules; although it was she who unwittingly played a role in his ultimate death (and then hung herself when she saw what she had done). See literary references below for more information on Dejanira.