Retta
Feminine
Retta is the back of a longer name — Loretta, Henrietta, Margaretta — taken as a name of its own, which is what nineteenth-century American families did constantly.
How old is the name Retta?
Retta was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Retta alive today was born around 1933, making them about 92 years old. About 1,200 people named Retta are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Retta most popular?
Retta peaked in 1880, reaching #317 nationally. Today it ranks #11932, 11,615 places below that high. See the whole 1880 chart.
Where it comes from
From Henrietta to Retta
The story of Retta
The -etta ending was extremely productive in nineteenth-century naming, and its final syllables were clipped in speech and then registered outright. Retta appears throughout American records of the period alongside Etta, Netta and Letta, which arose the same way, and it peaked around 1885.
Meaningscholars disagree
Not established
A clipping rather than a word, so the meaning depends on the parent. Through Henrietta it is 'home-ruler'; through Margaretta, 'pearl'; through Loretta, a Marian place name. Which parent a given bearer descends from is usually unrecoverable from the record.
How the name formed
- Henrietta
- Retta
Related forms: Etta · Loretta · Rita
Pronouncing Retta
RET-uh
Two syllables, stress on the first. Retta and Rhetta are said identically.
Nicknames for Retta
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
- 195455 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #317reached in 1880
- Change vs 2023
- +40.0%7 in 2025, 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.
Retta in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Etta in English — related form
- Loretta in English — related form
- Rita in Italian — related form
Rettas among us
people named Retta are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 229,610 born in 2025 was named Retta
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
Retta 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
Retta beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Retta in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Several substantial parent names can claim it, each with its own history.
- Five letters, two syllables, and never misheard.
- It records a real and well-documented American naming habit.
- The parent name is genuinely ambiguous.
- Etta is the commoner clipping of the same family.
- It is strongly period-coded to the nineteenth century.
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What they receive
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Retta
Feminine · #11932 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Rettas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,200 people named Retta are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Retta in 2025?
- Retta ranks #11932 among US girl names in 2025, with 7 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Retta?
- About 1 in every 229,610 US girls born in 2025 was named Retta — 7 in all.
- Will my child share the name Retta with classmates?
- Retta will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Retta
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Vina#11932 · Missouri#11932 · Iola#11932 · Eddie#11932 · Thomas#11932 · Louetta#11932 · Elvina#11932 · Gracia#11932
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Retta? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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