Retha
Feminine · “pearl”
Retha is the end of a longer name and the th is German. Margaretha, Loretha and Aretha all finish this way, and the h in that cluster is a German spelling habit rather than an English sound — German writes th where it says a plain t, so a name carrying it looks softer on the page than it is in the mouth.
How old is the name Retha?
Retha first appears in US birth records in 1884 — 141 years ago. The typical Retha alive today was born around 1936, making them about 89 years old. About 4,200 people named Retha are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Retha most popular?
Retha peaked in 1901, reaching #431 nationally. See the whole 1901 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Margaretha to Retha
The story of Retha
German and Scandinavian immigration brought a great many -etha and -eatha spellings into American records, and the h in them is doing something specific: in German the digraph th spells a plain t, a fossil of older spelling that the language kept long after the sound had gone. English readers see a th and expect the sound in think, which is not what any of these names ever had. Clipping the front off Margaretha leaves Retha, and American naming then gave it independently for generations, which is why it appears in families with no German connection at all.
Meaningscholars disagree
pearl
If Retha is cut from Margaretha the meaning is a pearl, from Greek margarites, which is as solid an etymology as a name can have. Aretha is a different road — usually connected to a Greek word for virtue or excellence, and less securely. Loretha and Oretha are American formations with no settled source. So the pearl is available through one parent and not guaranteed, which is the ordinary position for a clipping.
How the name formed
- Margaretha
- Retha
Related forms: Margaretha · Margaretha
Pronouncing Retha
REE-thuh
REE-thuh in American English, two syllables, with the th said as in think. The German original says it as a plain t — RAY-tah — so English has given the name a consonant it did not previously have, and that reading is now the standard one here.
Nicknames for Retha
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
- 1884
- Most girls named
- 1918218 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #431reached in 1901
- Change vs 1998
- 0.0%5 in 2014, from 5
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.
Retha in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Margaretha in German — related form
- Margaretha in Dutch — related form
Rethas among us
people named Retha 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
Retha 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
- Five letters, two syllables, and said the same way by every American reader.
- Margaretha and Aretha are both available as longer versions in two different traditions.
- It is a genuine nineteenth-century given name rather than a modern respelling.
- Reatha, Rhetta and Aretha are all close in sound and all in the American record.
- The name belongs firmly to an earlier American century and has not returned.
- It reads as a clipping to people who know Margaretha, and they will ask what it is short for.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Retha to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Retha? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Retha
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Rethas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,200 people named Retha are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Retha in 2025?
- Retha is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Retha with classmates?
- Retha will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More R names
The most-given names starting with R, all years combined.
Ruth#173 · Rebecca#349 · Rachel#250 · Rose#114 · Ruby#64 · Robin#704 · Rita#1285 · Rhonda#6116
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Retha? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Retha 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
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle