Martha comes from the Aramaic name Marta (ַמ ְר ָתּא ), meaning "the lady" or "the mistress", as it is a feminine form of the word mar (ַמר ), meaning "master". In the Christian New Testament, this is the name of the sister of Lazarus and witness to one of Jesus’s miracles. Relatively popular in the early 20th century, the name declined in popularity before seeing slight resurgence in the early 2000s. It is currently on the decline in popularity once again.