Golda
Feminine · “gold”
Golda is gold, in Yiddish. Ashkenazi naming used ordinary descriptive words freely, and Golde was among the commonest — a name that says exactly what it means in a language its speakers used every day.
How old is the name Golda?
Golda was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Golda alive today was born around 1922, making them about 103 years old. About 2,000 people named Golda are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Golda most popular?
Golda peaked in 1894, reaching #295 nationally. Today it ranks #2645, 2,350 places below that high. See the whole 1894 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From gold to Golda
The story of Golda
Ashkenazi naming ran on two tracks: a Hebrew name for religious use and a Yiddish one for everyday life. Golde belonged firmly to the second and was among the commonest Yiddish women's names in eastern Europe. Emigration brought it to America in large numbers from the 1880s, where it appears as Golda and Goldie and peaked around 1900.
Meaning
gold
From the Yiddish gold, the same word as the English one, both from a common Germanic root. Yiddish women's names drawn from precious things and pleasant qualities were ordinary — Golde, Perl, Sheyne, Freyde — and their meanings are entirely transparent to speakers.
How the name formed
- gold
- Golde
- Golda
Related forms: Golde · Goldie · Zehava
Pronouncing Golda
GOHL-duh
Two syllables, stress on the first. Yiddish Golde has a lighter final vowel.
Nicknames for Golda
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 1916154 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #295reached in 1894
- Change vs 2022
- +12.1%65 in 2025, from 58
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.
Golda in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Golde in Yiddish — related form
- Goldie in English — related form
- Zehava in Hebrew — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, New Jersey, Illinois.
Goldas among us
people named Golda are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 24,727 born in 2025 was named Golda
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Golda 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
Where Golda is headed
Golda should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Golda beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Golda 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 completely transparent and needs no explaining in English or Yiddish.
- It records a documented and once-enormous naming tradition.
- Zehava, the Hebrew for the same thing, is its traditional counterpart.
- It reads as distinctly Jewish-American and is period-coded to the turn of the last century.
- One Israeli prime minister is a strong association.
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What they receive
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Golda
Feminine · #2645 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Goldas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,000 people named Golda are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Golda in 2025?
- Golda ranks #2645 among US girl names in 2025, with 65 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Golda?
- About 1 in every 24,727 US girls born in 2025 was named Golda — 65 in all.
- Will my child share the name Golda with classmates?
- Golda will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Golda
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Caliana#2645 · Aaira#2645 · Wylie#2645 · Henrietta#2645 · Mahogany#2645 · Amaiah#2645 · Charlize#2645 · Esra#2645
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Golda? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Golda and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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