Greta
Greta was given to 291 girls in 2025, #908 among girls’ names; 27,791 Americans have been recorded with it since 1885 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 21,400 Americans named Greta and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (77% of everyone recorded); the median is 28 years old and half are between 14 and 59.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Greta by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Greta mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Greta is “a female given name from Ancient Greek.”
From German and Swedish Greta, a contraction of Margareta.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Greta?
#908 among girls’ names, 2025
Greta fell from #575 in 2015 to #908 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.30 to 0.18 per 1,000.
534 babies in 1967, the peak
Greta peaked in 1967, when 534 girls were given it, #394 among girls’ names. The 291 births of 2025 are 54% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 291 | #908 | 0.18 |
| 2024 | 314 | #862 | 0.19 |
| 2023 | 283 | #938 | 0.18 |
| 2022 | 324 | #859 | 0.20 |
| 2021 | 336 | #827 | 0.20 |
| 2020 | 370 | #740 | 0.23 |
| 2019 | 462 | #637 | 0.28 |
| 2018 | 519 | #589 | 0.31 |
| 2017 | 466 | #634 | 0.27 |
| 2016 | 473 | #633 | 0.27 |
Every recorded year (141)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 533 | #575 | 0.30 |
| 2014 | 494 | #597 | 0.28 |
| 2013 | 479 | #594 | 0.27 |
| 2012 | 444 | #642 | 0.25 |
| 2011 | 411 | #684 | 0.23 |
| 2010 | 431 | #671 | 0.24 |
| 2009 | 417 | #696 | 0.23 |
| 2008 | 434 | #696 | 0.23 |
| 2007 | 434 | #675 | 0.23 |
| 2006 | 411 | #688 | 0.22 |
| 2005 | 405 | #685 | 0.22 |
| 2004 | 379 | #708 | 0.21 |
| 2003 | 376 | #695 | 0.21 |
| 2002 | 319 | #756 | 0.18 |
| 2001 | 279 | #829 | 0.15 |
| 2000 | 301 | #757 | 0.17 |
| 1999 | 253 | #855 | 0.14 |
| 1998 | 182 | #1,070 | 0.10 |
| 1997 | 161 | #1,151 | 0.09 |
| 1996 | 159 | #1,142 | 0.09 |
| 1995 | 132 | #1,272 | 0.08 |
| 1994 | 115 | #1,401 | 0.06 |
| 1993 | 108 | #1,474 | 0.06 |
| 1992 | 119 | #1,380 | 0.06 |
| 1991 | 110 | #1,441 | 0.06 |
| 1990 | 106 | #1,467 | 0.06 |
| 1989 | 112 | #1,365 | 0.06 |
| 1988 | 116 | #1,261 | 0.07 |
| 1987 | 116 | #1,229 | 0.07 |
| 1986 | 115 | #1,212 | 0.07 |
| 1985 | 110 | #1,245 | 0.06 |
| 1984 | 138 | #1,031 | 0.08 |
| 1983 | 133 | #1,044 | 0.08 |
| 1982 | 167 | #906 | 0.10 |
| 1981 | 210 | #780 | 0.13 |
| 1980 | 199 | #811 | 0.12 |
| 1979 | 205 | #778 | 0.13 |
| 1978 | 153 | #926 | 0.10 |
| 1977 | 147 | #946 | 0.10 |
| 1976 | 178 | #793 | 0.12 |
| 1975 | 194 | #742 | 0.13 |
| 1974 | 231 | #661 | 0.16 |
| 1973 | 231 | #649 | 0.16 |
| 1972 | 223 | #671 | 0.15 |
| 1971 | 304 | #576 | 0.18 |
| 1970 | 344 | #544 | 0.20 |
| 1969 | 348 | #525 | 0.21 |
| 1968 | 421 | #467 | 0.26 |
| 1967 | 534 | #394 | 0.32 |
| 1966 | 433 | #451 | 0.26 |
| 1965 | 255 | #607 | 0.14 |
| 1964 | 226 | #680 | 0.12 |
| 1963 | 287 | #585 | 0.15 |
| 1962 | 275 | #604 | 0.14 |
| 1961 | 362 | #513 | 0.18 |
| 1960 | 321 | #540 | 0.16 |
| 1959 | 347 | #521 | 0.17 |
| 1958 | 295 | #573 | 0.15 |
| 1957 | 276 | #579 | 0.13 |
| 1956 | 255 | #591 | 0.13 |
| 1955 | 236 | #601 | 0.12 |
| 1954 | 194 | #664 | 0.10 |
| 1953 | 191 | #645 | 0.10 |
| 1952 | 178 | #665 | 0.10 |
| 1951 | 194 | #617 | 0.11 |
| 1950 | 143 | #717 | 0.08 |
| 1949 | 122 | #782 | 0.07 |
| 1948 | 158 | #665 | 0.09 |
| 1947 | 138 | #727 | 0.08 |
| 1946 | 107 | #797 | 0.07 |
| 1945 | 95 | #769 | 0.07 |
| 1944 | 95 | #785 | 0.07 |
| 1943 | 140 | #642 | 0.10 |
| 1942 | 135 | #644 | 0.10 |
| 1941 | 127 | #629 | 0.11 |
| 1940 | 149 | #569 | 0.13 |
| 1939 | 159 | #528 | 0.14 |
| 1938 | 212 | #462 | 0.19 |
| 1937 | 217 | #447 | 0.20 |
| 1936 | 235 | #422 | 0.23 |
| 1935 | 271 | #388 | 0.26 |
| 1934 | 319 | #353 | 0.31 |
| 1933 | 338 | #336 | 0.34 |
| 1932 | 400 | #317 | 0.37 |
| 1931 | 383 | #326 | 0.36 |
| 1930 | 345 | #360 | 0.31 |
| 1929 | 283 | #397 | 0.25 |
| 1928 | 235 | #443 | 0.20 |
| 1927 | 146 | #586 | 0.12 |
| 1926 | 107 | #699 | 0.09 |
| 1925 | 67 | #909 | 0.06 |
| 1924 | 76 | #861 | 0.06 |
| 1923 | 71 | #872 | 0.06 |
| 1922 | 61 | #955 | 0.05 |
| 1921 | 60 | #959 | 0.05 |
| 1920 | 62 | #924 | 0.05 |
| 1919 | 75 | #813 | 0.07 |
| 1918 | 84 | #783 | 0.07 |
| 1917 | 94 | #717 | 0.09 |
| 1916 | 111 | #643 | 0.11 |
| 1915 | 103 | #653 | 0.10 |
| 1914 | 83 | #636 | 0.11 |
| 1913 | 52 | #726 | 0.08 |
| 1912 | 72 | #568 | 0.13 |
| 1911 | 39 | #700 | 0.09 |
| 1910 | 28 | #817 | 0.07 |
| 1909 | 25 | #821 | 0.07 |
| 1908 | 33 | #672 | 0.10 |
| 1907 | 26 | #745 | 0.08 |
| 1906 | 32 | #637 | 0.11 |
| 1905 | 38 | #566 | 0.13 |
| 1904 | 21 | #785 | 0.08 |
| 1903 | 19 | #797 | 0.07 |
| 1902 | 25 | #677 | 0.09 |
| 1901 | 20 | #729 | 0.08 |
| 1900 | 32 | #625 | 0.11 |
| 1899 | 23 | #650 | 0.10 |
| 1898 | 33 | #561 | 0.13 |
| 1897 | 23 | #650 | 0.10 |
| 1896 | 20 | #713 | 0.08 |
| 1895 | 20 | #708 | 0.09 |
| 1894 | 21 | #650 | 0.09 |
| 1893 | 13 | #841 | 0.06 |
| 1892 | 15 | #777 | 0.07 |
| 1891 | 8 | #1,047 | 0.04 |
| 1890 | 14 | #741 | 0.07 |
| 1889 | 16 | #649 | 0.09 |
| 1888 | 9 | #917 | 0.05 |
| 1887 | 8 | #890 | 0.05 |
| 1886 | 5 | #1,182 | 0.03 |
| 1885 | 6 | #972 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Greta a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Greta has been given almost only to girls: 5 boys in 141 years of records.
Girls and boys named Greta: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Greta, and how old are they?
21,400 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 77% of the 27,791 Americans ever recorded as Greta. The median Greta alive today is 28 years old; half are between 14 and 59.
The 2020 Census counted 22,240 people named Greta (22,213 women and girls, 27 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 20,764 born in the U.S. The Census count is 7% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 961 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 3,430 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 4,050 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 2,010 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 5,580 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 5,310 |
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 Greta born?
The states with the most babies named Greta are Minnesota, New York and California, with 25% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Minnesota is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 1,981 | #133 | 3.5× |
| New York | 1,776 | #1,111 | 0.8× |
| California | 1,639 | #1,123 | 0.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 1,367 | #665 | 0.9× |
| Illinois | 1,345 | #583 | 1.0× |
| Texas | 1,075 | #1,486 | 0.5× |
| Ohio | 1,071 | #761 | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 995 | #1,119 | 0.9× |
| Wisconsin | 967 | #330 | 1.6× |
| North Carolina | 638 | #1,006 | 0.8× |
Where Greta is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Greta is most over-represented in Minnesota: since 1910 it was given 3.5 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 Greta 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 3 names spelled alike, given to 31,991 babies since 1880, Greta is the most given (87% of them). In 2025 it was given to 291 of their 314 babies (93%), 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 Greta
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
| Name | Recorded | 1880-2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Libby | 17,971 |
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 Greta and names like it
- Compare Greta and GrettaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sGreta peaked in 1967.
- Minnesota’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Greta since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Greta: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1967The year the most babies were named Greta.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Greta alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with GMost given first.