Girtha
Feminine
Girtha is a rare girl's name from the turn of the twentieth century, close to Gertha and Bertha. Said aloud it also shares its sound with an English word, girth, which began in the stable.
How old is the name Girtha?
Girtha first appears in US birth records in 1896 — 129 years ago. The typical Girtha alive today was born around 1926, making them about 99 years old. About 100 people named Girtha are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Girtha most popular?
Girtha peaked in 1903, reaching #969 nationally. See the whole 1903 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Girtha
A girth, from an Old Norse word for a belt, was first the strap that runs under a horse's belly and holds the saddle on; only later did the word stretch to mean the measure round a tree, a waist or anything else. Girtha has nothing to do with it; it came from the Gertrude and Bertha names of its day. But the sound is close enough that some listeners will hear it.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Girtha may be Gertha, a pet form of Gertrude, or Bertha with a G, and nothing records which. It is not related to the word girth.
Pronouncing Girtha
GUR-thuh
Two syllables with the stress on the first.
Nicknames for Girtha
Limited
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
- 1896
- Most girls named
- 191922 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #969reached in 1903
- Change vs 1951
- −40.0%6 in 1959, from 10
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.
Girthas among us
people named Girtha are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Girtha sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Almost certain to be the only one.
- Close to familiar older names.
- Easy to say.
- It sounds like the word girth, which children may notice.
- People will write Gertha or Bertha.
- It reads as a name of a much earlier generation.
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Girtha
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Girthas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 100 people named Girtha are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Girtha in 2025?
- Girtha is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Girtha with classmates?
- Girtha will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More G names
The most-given names starting with G, all years combined.
Grace#38 · Gloria#654 · Gladys#3211 · Geraldine#2438 · Gail#8362 · Gertrude#6546 · Georgia#99 · Gina#2076
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Girtha? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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