Marta

Marta is a form of Martha used in Spanish, Italian, and several other European languages. The older name comes from an Aramaic word for a lady or mistress of a household. Its spread owes much to the New Testament Martha, the sister of Mary and Lazarus, whose encounters with Jesus appear in the Gospels.

Removing the h reflects the spelling and sound conventions of different languages, rather than creating a different meaning. Marta is also familiar outside religious settings: Brazilian footballer Marta has made the name internationally recognizable through her sporting career. The shared spelling across many countries does not guarantee identical pronunciation everywhere, but it does give the name a substantial multilingual history. Its form also makes the link with Martha easy to recognize for relatives using the English spelling.