Britta
Feminine · “Irish "exalted one”
Birgitta of Sweden founded a religious order that still exists, which no other Scandinavian woman has done. Her revelations were among the first books printed in Sweden, and she was made a patron saint of Europe in 1999 — six centuries after her death in 1373.
How old is the name Britta?
Britta first appears in US birth records in 1916 — 109 years ago. The typical Britta alive today was born around 1989, making them about 36 years old. About 3,500 people named Britta are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Britta most popular?
Britta peaked in 1986, reaching #867 nationally. Today it ranks #7491, 6,624 places below that high. See the whole 1986 chart.
Where it comes from
From Brigit to Britta
The story of Britta
Birgitta Birgersdotter was a Swedish noblewoman, a mother of eight, who after her husband's death became a visionary and went to Rome to press for the papacy's return from Avignon. She founded the Bridgettines in 1344, an order of double monasteries under an abbess, and it survives today. Her Revelationes circulated widely in manuscript and were printed in 1492. She was canonized in 1391, and in 1999 John Paul II named her one of the six patron saints of Europe. The Irish name reached Sweden through early medieval missionary contact and became thoroughly Scandinavian; Britta peaks in America in 1986.
Meaning
Irish "exalted one"
From Irish Brigit, from brig, power or high standing. The name traveled north with Irish missionaries and became Birgitta in Sweden, Birgit in Denmark and Norway, and Britt and Britta as short forms. The English word Briton and the country name Britain are unrelated, from a Celtic tribal name, and Britta is not a form of Brittany.
How the name formed
- Brigit
- Birgitta
- Britta
Related forms: Birgitta · Britta · Birgit · Bríd
Pronouncing Britta
BRIT-ah
Two syllables, stress on the first. Swedish gives the double t a longer hold than English does, and the final vowel is a clear ah rather than a schwa.
Nicknames for Britta
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1916
- Most girls named
- 1987151 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #867reached in 1986
- Change vs 2023
- −48.1%14 in 2025, from 27
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Britta in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Birgitta in Swedish — related form
- Britta in German — same name
- Birgit in Danish — related form
- Bríd in Irish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Utah.
Brittas among us
people named Britta are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 114,805 born in 2025 was named Britta
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Gladis test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Britta's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Gladis climbed just as high around 1909, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Gladis's path sketches the road Britta is walking now.
Britta sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Britta beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Britta in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled and strong: the exalted one.
- It is short, two syllables and easy to spell.
- It is fully established across Scandinavia and Germany.
- In America it shares a spelling with a water-filter brand.
- Britt and Birgit are competing shorter forms.
- It is often assumed to relate to Britain, which it does not.
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What they receive
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Britta
Feminine · #7491 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Brittas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,500 people named Britta are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Britta in 2025?
- Britta ranks #7491 among US girl names in 2025, with 14 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Britta?
- About 1 in every 114,805 US girls born in 2025 was named Britta — 14 in all.
- Will my child share the name Britta with classmates?
- Britta will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Britta
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Christie#7491 · Carmelita#7491 · Jetta#7491 · Hildegard#7491 · Rickie#7491 · Billy#7491 · Angelyn#7491 · Jewell#7491
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Britta? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Britta and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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