How Many People Are Named Gretchen?
An estimated 39,254 people in the United States have the first name Gretchen. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 51 years old, and Gretchen peaked in popularity in 1973 with 1,350 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Gretchen as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Gretchen paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- Gretchen has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1970s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
39,254
About 1 in 8,732 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
99.9% confidence
Average Age
51
years old
Peak Year
1973
1,350 births
Total Registered
53,806
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Gretchen
Gretchen is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 53,806 total births registered, 99.9% were female.
Gretchen as a male name
Ranked #5,793 in 1980
6 male births in 1980
Peak: 1975 (9 births)
Gretchen as a female name
Ranked #3,591 in 2024
43 female births in 2024
Peak: 1973 (1,350 births)
Gretchen: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Gretchen span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1970s, when 11,824 babies were registered. Gretchen has declined significantly from its peak in the 1970s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Gretchen by Decade
How has Gretchen tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 95 | 0 | 95 | |
| 1890s | 320 | 0 | 320 | |
| 1900s | 479 | 0 | 479 | |
| 1910s | 1,797 | 0 | 1,797 | |
| 1920s | 1,454 | 0 | 1,454 | |
| 1930s | 2,994 | 0 | 2,994 | |
| 1940s | 5,192 | 0 | 5,192 | |
| 1950s | 6,104 | 10 | 6,094 | |
| 1960s | 9,745 | 0 | 9,745 | |
| 1970s | 11,824 | 22 | 11,802 | |
| 1980s | 5,674 | 6 | 5,668 | |
| 1990s | 3,099 | 0 | 3,099 | |
| 2000s | 3,067 | 0 | 3,067 | |
| 2010s | 1,676 | 0 | 1,676 | |
| 2020s | 286 | 0 | 286 | |
Gretchen by State
Birth registrations for Gretchen span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Pennsylvania, Ohio, California. The lowest are in Wyoming, Hawaii, Delaware. On average, about 940 Gretchens were registered per state.
Gretchen + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Gretchen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Gretchen
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
Gretchen: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gretchen?
We estimate approximately 39,254 people named Gretchen are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 8,732 Americans share this first name.
Is Gretchen a common name?
Gretchen is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 53,806 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Gretchen most popular?
Gretchen reached peak popularity in 1973, when 1,350 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Gretchen is approximately 51 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Gretchen a female name?
Gretchen is predominantly female. 99.9% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Gretchen Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Gretchen Smith, Gretchen Johnson, Gretchen Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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