How Many People Are Named Martha?
An estimated 200,283 people in the United States have the first name Martha. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #266 overall. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 65 years old, and Martha peaked in popularity in 1947 with 10,674 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Martha 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 Martha paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Martha is overwhelmingly female, 1,991 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 65, Martha is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1971.
- Martha has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1940s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
200,283
About 1 in 1,711 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.6% confidence
Average Age
65
years old
Peak Year
1947
10,674 births
Total Registered
553,316
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Martha
Martha is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 553,316 total births registered, 99.6% were female.
Martha as a male name
Ranked #5,386 in 1995
11 male births in 1995
Peak: 1939 (47 births)
Martha as a female name
Ranked #667 in 2024
431 female births in 2024
Peak: 1947 (10,652 births)
Martha: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Martha span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1940s, when 95,681 babies were registered. Martha has declined significantly from its peak in the 1940s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Martha by Decade
How has Martha 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 | 13,958 | 47 | 13,911 | |
| 1890s | 19,474 | 59 | 19,415 | |
| 1900s | 21,816 | 66 | 21,750 | |
| 1910s | 59,671 | 162 | 59,509 | |
| 1920s | 87,102 | 314 | 86,788 | |
| 1930s | 78,074 | 377 | 77,697 | |
| 1940s | 95,681 | 295 | 95,386 | |
| 1950s | 83,394 | 205 | 83,189 | |
| 1960s | 41,188 | 149 | 41,039 | |
| 1970s | 18,035 | 110 | 17,925 | |
| 1980s | 13,186 | 148 | 13,038 | |
| 1990s | 9,809 | 59 | 9,750 | |
| 2000s | 6,169 | 0 | 6,169 | |
| 2010s | 3,739 | 0 | 3,739 | |
| 2020s | 2,020 | 0 | 2,020 | |
Martha by State
Birth registrations for Martha span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, California, Pennsylvania. The lowest are in Nevada, Wyoming, Hawaii. On average, about 9,694 Marthas were registered per state.
Martha + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Martha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Martha
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
Martha: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Martha?
We estimate approximately 200,283 people named Martha 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 1,711 Americans share this first name.
Is Martha a common name?
Martha is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.7% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 553,316 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Martha most popular?
Martha reached peak popularity in 1947, when 10,674 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Martha is approximately 65 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Martha a female name?
Martha is predominantly female. 99.6% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Martha Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Martha Smith, Martha Johnson, Martha 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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