Leitha
Feminine
Leitha is a rare American name with no documented parent. It is also a small river in central Europe that once had an absurd administrative job: it divided an empire whose two halves nobody could agree what to call.
How old is the name Leitha?
Leitha was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Leitha alive today was born around 1930, making them about 95 years old. About 300 people named Leitha are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Leitha most popular?
Leitha peaked in 1880, reaching #679 nationally. See the whole 1880 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Leitha
After the compromise of eighteen sixty-seven the Habsburg empire became two states under one monarch, and nobody could agree on names for the halves, because naming them would have settled arguments both sides preferred to leave open. So officials used the river: Cisleithania for the Austrian side and Transleithania for the Hungarian, meaning this side of the Leitha and the far side of it. The river is about a hundred and eighty kilometres long and mostly unremarkable. For fifty years it was the only agreed term for the constitutional structure of a great power, which is a useful illustration of how far a state will go to avoid deciding something.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Letha, Alethea and Lethia have all been suggested and none is documented. The river is a coincidence of spelling rather than an origin.
Pronouncing Leitha
LEE-thuh
Two syllables with the stress in front. LAY-thuh, the German reading, is also heard.
Nicknames for Leitha
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 191622 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #679reached in 1880
- Change vs 1973
- +14.3%8 in 1977, from 7
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.
Leithas among us
people named Leitha 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
Leitha 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
- It is soft throughout with nothing difficult to say.
- Six letters and two syllables: quick to write and easy to remember.
- It is genuinely rare in the American record.
- Two pronunciations are in circulation and the spelling settles neither.
- It will be heard as Letha or Leah by people catching it once.
- No origin is documented, so the meaning question has nothing to answer with.
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Leitha
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Leithas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Leitha are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Leitha in 2025?
- Leitha is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Leitha with classmates?
- Leitha will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More L names
The most-given names starting with L, all years combined.
Linda#902 · Lisa#987 · Laura#379 · Lauren#401 · Lillian#57 · Lori#1721 · Louise#514 · Lois#1666
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Leitha? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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