Etta
Etta was given to 281 girls in 2025, #930 among girls’ names; 43,291 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 11,300 Americans named Etta and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (26% of everyone recorded); the median is 64 years old and half are between 11 and 78.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Etta by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Etta mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Etta is “a short form of Henrietta or of other female given names ending in -etta.”
/ˈɛtə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Etta?
#930 among girls’ names, 2025
Etta rose from #1,082 in 2015 to #930 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.14 to 0.17 per 1,000.
803 babies in 1920, the peak
Etta peaked in 1920, when 803 girls were given it, #230 among girls’ names. The 281 births of 2025 are 35% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 281 | #930 | 0.17 |
| 2024 | 267 | #973 | 0.16 |
| 2023 | 283 | #937 | 0.18 |
| 2022 | 256 | #1,016 | 0.16 |
| 2021 | 285 | #933 | 0.17 |
| 2020 | 279 | #924 | 0.17 |
| 2019 | 254 | #1,011 | 0.15 |
| 2018 | 276 | #958 | 0.16 |
| 2017 | 263 | #988 | 0.15 |
| 2016 | 257 | #1,031 | 0.15 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 242 | #1,082 | 0.14 |
| 2014 | 209 | #1,175 | 0.12 |
| 2013 | 204 | #1,181 | 0.12 |
| 2012 | 132 | #1,634 | 0.07 |
| 2011 | 86 | #2,198 | 0.05 |
| 2010 | 81 | #2,349 | 0.05 |
| 2009 | 71 | #2,596 | 0.04 |
| 2008 | 57 | #3,028 | 0.03 |
| 2007 | 39 | #4,005 | 0.02 |
| 2006 | 46 | #3,478 | 0.02 |
| 2005 | 25 | #5,148 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 28 | #4,746 | 0.02 |
| 2003 | 25 | #4,983 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 29 | #4,308 | 0.02 |
| 2001 | 7 | #12,466 | under 0.01 |
| 2000 | 15 | #6,907 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 12 | #7,873 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 15 | #6,471 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 14 | #6,591 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 19 | #5,124 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 15 | #6,051 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 17 | #5,523 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 21 | #4,704 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 19 | #5,112 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 19 | #5,042 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 21 | #4,560 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 19 | #4,718 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 25 | #3,729 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 19 | #4,346 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 23 | #3,672 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 18 | #4,322 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 20 | #3,902 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 23 | #3,461 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 28 | #3,111 | 0.02 |
| 1981 | 39 | #2,457 | 0.02 |
| 1980 | 23 | #3,540 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 36 | #2,544 | 0.02 |
| 1978 | 34 | #2,528 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 37 | #2,385 | 0.02 |
| 1976 | 36 | #2,307 | 0.02 |
| 1975 | 41 | #2,105 | 0.03 |
| 1974 | 48 | #1,827 | 0.03 |
| 1973 | 34 | #2,278 | 0.02 |
| 1972 | 59 | #1,569 | 0.04 |
| 1971 | 67 | #1,503 | 0.04 |
| 1970 | 66 | #1,508 | 0.04 |
| 1969 | 73 | #1,332 | 0.04 |
| 1968 | 100 | #1,043 | 0.06 |
| 1967 | 91 | #1,095 | 0.06 |
| 1966 | 113 | #956 | 0.07 |
| 1965 | 127 | #890 | 0.07 |
| 1964 | 157 | #835 | 0.08 |
| 1963 | 181 | #765 | 0.09 |
| 1962 | 200 | #729 | 0.10 |
| 1961 | 207 | #721 | 0.10 |
| 1960 | 214 | #696 | 0.11 |
| 1959 | 206 | #699 | 0.10 |
| 1958 | 247 | #623 | 0.12 |
| 1957 | 229 | #647 | 0.11 |
| 1956 | 258 | #587 | 0.13 |
| 1955 | 264 | #559 | 0.14 |
| 1954 | 240 | #583 | 0.12 |
| 1953 | 246 | #556 | 0.13 |
| 1952 | 249 | #544 | 0.13 |
| 1951 | 252 | #525 | 0.14 |
| 1950 | 289 | #476 | 0.17 |
| 1949 | 332 | #434 | 0.19 |
| 1948 | 343 | #430 | 0.20 |
| 1947 | 342 | #444 | 0.19 |
| 1946 | 360 | #401 | 0.23 |
| 1945 | 345 | #378 | 0.26 |
| 1944 | 369 | #363 | 0.28 |
| 1943 | 419 | #349 | 0.30 |
| 1942 | 448 | #326 | 0.33 |
| 1941 | 413 | #322 | 0.34 |
| 1940 | 426 | #305 | 0.37 |
| 1939 | 408 | #307 | 0.37 |
| 1938 | 461 | #292 | 0.42 |
| 1937 | 443 | #296 | 0.42 |
| 1936 | 449 | #285 | 0.43 |
| 1935 | 458 | #284 | 0.44 |
| 1934 | 499 | #275 | 0.48 |
| 1933 | 514 | #270 | 0.51 |
| 1932 | 504 | #275 | 0.47 |
| 1931 | 518 | #273 | 0.49 |
| 1930 | 551 | #271 | 0.49 |
| 1929 | 614 | #257 | 0.55 |
| 1928 | 583 | #267 | 0.51 |
| 1927 | 648 | #260 | 0.54 |
| 1926 | 655 | #257 | 0.55 |
| 1925 | 731 | #246 | 0.60 |
| 1924 | 725 | #247 | 0.58 |
| 1923 | 742 | #239 | 0.62 |
| 1922 | 720 | #243 | 0.60 |
| 1921 | 740 | #244 | 0.60 |
| 1920 | 803 | #230 | 0.67 |
| 1919 | 742 | #230 | 0.66 |
| 1918 | 755 | #230 | 0.65 |
| 1917 | 750 | #224 | 0.69 |
| 1916 | 742 | #222 | 0.71 |
| 1915 | 766 | #215 | 0.78 |
| 1914 | 581 | #216 | 0.76 |
| 1913 | 542 | #197 | 0.87 |
| 1912 | 510 | #192 | 0.91 |
| 1911 | 434 | #173 | 1.0 |
| 1910 | 430 | #165 | 1.1 |
| 1909 | 367 | #166 | 1.1 |
| 1908 | 400 | #162 | 1.2 |
| 1907 | 407 | #157 | 1.3 |
| 1906 | 384 | #155 | 1.3 |
| 1905 | 397 | #150 | 1.4 |
| 1904 | 343 | #160 | 1.2 |
| 1903 | 416 | #134 | 1.6 |
| 1902 | 400 | #139 | 1.5 |
| 1901 | 381 | #134 | 1.6 |
| 1900 | 508 | #123 | 1.7 |
| 1899 | 394 | #123 | 1.7 |
| 1898 | 479 | #112 | 1.9 |
| 1897 | 467 | #109 | 2.0 |
| 1896 | 484 | #107 | 2.0 |
| 1895 | 445 | #112 | 1.9 |
| 1894 | 519 | #97 | 2.3 |
| 1893 | 486 | #98 | 2.3 |
| 1892 | 492 | #97 | 2.3 |
| 1891 | 452 | #94 | 2.4 |
| 1890 | 452 | #95 | 2.4 |
| 1889 | 465 | #87 | 2.6 |
| 1888 | 500 | #82 | 2.8 |
| 1887 | 437 | #78 | 3.0 |
| 1886 | 433 | #79 | 3.0 |
| 1885 | 372 | #83 | 2.8 |
| 1884 | 423 | #75 | 3.3 |
| 1883 | 352 | #80 | 3.1 |
| 1882 | 352 | #75 | 3.3 |
| 1881 | 316 | #74 | 3.4 |
| 1880 | 323 | #72 | 3.5 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Etta a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Etta has been given almost only to girls: 23 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Etta: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Etta, and how old are they?
11,300 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 26% of the 43,291 Americans ever recorded as Etta. The median Etta alive today is 64 years old; half are between 11 and 78.
The 2020 Census counted 10,485 people named Etta (10,456 women and girls, 29 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 12,019 born in the U.S. The Census count is 13% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 2,290 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 3,650 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 903 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 335 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 676 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 3,340 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Etta born?
The states with the most babies named Etta are North Carolina, Texas and New York, with 21% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 2,114 | #1,324 | 2.0× |
| Texas | 2,055 | #2,092 | 1.1× |
| New York | 1,463 | #1,046 | 0.5× |
| Tennessee | 1,371 | #666 | 1.7× |
| Kentucky | 1,317 | #785 | 1.8× |
| Alabama | 1,199 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Virginia | 1,183 | #1,245 | 1.5× |
| Mississippi | 1,117 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Georgia | 1,085 | #1,114 | 1.1× |
| Pennsylvania | 1,076 | not ranked | 0.5× |
Where Etta is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Etta is most over-represented in North Carolina: since 1910 it was given 2.0 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Etta with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 4 names spelled alike, given to 46,054 babies since 1880, Etta is the most given (94% of them). In 2025 it was given to 281 of their 327 babies (86%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Etta
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Etta and names like it
- Compare Etta and EttieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sEtta peaked in 1920.
- North Carolina’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Etta since 1910.
- The top names of 1920The year the most babies were named Etta.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Etta alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with EMost given first.