How Many People Are Named Retha?
An estimated 3,355 people in the United States have the first name Retha. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 71 years old, and Retha peaked in popularity in 1924 with 252 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Retha 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 Retha paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- With an average bearer age of 71, Retha is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1965.
Estimated Living Americans
3,355
About 1 in 102,162 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
100.0% confidence
Average Age
71
years old
Peak Year
1924
252 births
Total Registered
10,597
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Retha
Retha is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 10,597 total births registered, 100.0% were female.
Retha as a female name
Ranked #18,634 in 2014
5 female births in 2014
Peak: 1924 (252 births)
Retha: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Retha span from the 1880s to the 2010s, covering 14 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 2,078 babies were registered. Retha has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Retha by Decade
How has Retha 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.
Retha by State
Birth registrations for Retha span all 24 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in North Carolina, Georgia, Texas. The lowest are in Pennsylvania, Iowa, New York. On average, about 309 Rethas were registered per state.
Retha + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Retha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Retha
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
Retha: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Retha?
We estimate approximately 3,355 people named Retha 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 102,162 Americans share this first name.
Is Retha a common name?
Retha is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 95.5% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 10,597 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Retha most popular?
Retha reached peak popularity in 1924, when 252 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Retha is approximately 71 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Retha a female name?
Retha is predominantly female. 100.0% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Retha Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Retha Smith, Retha Johnson, Retha 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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