How Many People Are Named Retha Sellmer?

There are approximately 1 people named Retha Sellmer living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans.

This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Retha with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Sellmer. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census background data where it is available.

Estimated People with This Name

1 in 342,754,338 Americans

Combination Rarity

Very Rare

Very Rare Very Common

First Name

Retha

Last Name

Sellmer

Retha: Popularity Over Time

Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Retha. The peak year was 1924 with 252 births. The average person named Retha today is 71 years old.

Ancestry of the First Name Retha

These percentages describe the people who had the first name Retha in the 2020 Census. They do not tell you the deeper origin or meaning of the name itself.

Read this as a snapshot of who already had the name in 2020, not as a trend line. The SSA chart above is still the better way to see how Retha rose or fell over time.

White

68.05%

Black

26.23%

Hispanic

0.73%

Asian/Pacific Islander

0.24%

American Indian/Alaska Native

1.36%

Two or More Races

3.40%

Ancestry of the Sellmer Surname

The surname Sellmer was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White in the 2020 Census.

This is a self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people who had the surname Sellmer in the published Census surname tables. It gives useful context around who was recorded with the name, but it does not tell the full family history of every Boone line.

White

89.29%

Black

1.43%

Hispanic

6.43%

Two or More Races

2.86%

How we calculated this

The first name "Retha" has an estimated frequency of < 0.0001% among living Americans, based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024 adjusted for mortality using CDC 2023 life tables.

The surname "Sellmer" appears at a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 people in the 2020 U.S. Census.

We do not use the Census first-name snapshot for the main estimate because it is only published once every 10 years. The latest public first-name Census file is from 2020, which is already 6 years old. SSA birth records plus CDC survival data give a better current estimate of how many people with the first name Retha are likely to be alive now.

Multiplying these frequencies against the U.S. population of ~343 million gives 1 estimated people. This assumes first names and last names are statistically independent. Full methodology.

Other people named Retha

Retha Smith Retha Johnson Retha Williams Retha Brown Retha Jones Retha Garcia

Other people with the surname Sellmer

Michael Sellmer William Sellmer James Sellmer David Sellmer John Sellmer Robert Sellmer

Retha Sellmer: Questions and Answers

How many people are named Retha Sellmer?

We estimate approximately 1 people named Retha Sellmer are alive in the United States today. The first name Retha is shared by 3,355 Americans, and the surname Sellmer is shared by 161.

How rare is the name Retha Sellmer?

This name combination is classified as Very Rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. The first name Retha is rare and the surname Sellmer is very rare.

Is Retha a male or female name?

Retha is predominantly female, with 0.0% of bearers being male and 100.0% female. It peaked in popularity in 1924 and the average bearer today is 71 years old.

What does the Census say about the first name Retha?

In the 2020 Census, the first name Retha was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (68.05%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (26.23%) and Two or More Races (3.40%). These percentages describe the people who had the name in the 2020 Census, not the deeper origin of the name itself.

Where does this data come from?

First name data comes from the Social Security Administration (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables. When available, first-name Census background data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau first-name tables. Surname data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau. Full methodology.

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