Girls' name · since 1882
Gretchen
53,799 babies named Gretchen in U.S. Social Security records since 1882, with the highest year being 1973. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #557 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #4,269 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 53,799
- born since 1882
- 1970s
- peak decade
53,799 babies have been named Gretchen since 1882, making it today's #4269 girls' name.
Social Security Administration records show Gretchen recorded 53,799 times among girls since 1882, holding rank #4269 nationally today, ahead of 75% of girls, peaking in the 1970s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1882 to 2025.
- #557 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #4,269 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 53,799 born since 1882
- 1970s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Gretchen ranks #557 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #4,269 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 53,799 born since 1882, peaking in the 1970s.
- #557 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #4,269 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 53,799
- born since 1882
- 1970s
- peak decade
Gretchen's 53,799 recorded births place it above 99.23% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Pennsylvania.
How Gretchen compares
53,799 Top 4% higher than 96% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Gretchen's all-time total is 143x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Gretchen | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 53,799 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 1,351 | 21 | 19,840 |
Gretchen's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Gretchen's full recorded timeline at 1954, 73% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 27% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1885, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1973 peak of 1,351 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Gretchen popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1882–2025
- Peak year (1973)
- 1,351
- Annual births at peak, across 144 years of records
Gretchen popularity over time - boys
38 total births recorded since 1957 (Gretchen as boys' name)
Gretchen by decade
1970s is the heaviest window (11,800 births, 22% of the file).
1970s was Gretchen's strongest decade.
11,800 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 22% of all-time use.
Gretchen births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 95
1880s
95 births
- 1890s 320
1890s
320 births
- 1900s 479
1900s
479 births
- 1910s 1,797
1910s
1,797 births
- 1920s 1,454
1920s
1,454 births
- 1930s 2,994
1930s
2,994 births
- 1940s
1940s
5,192 births
- 1950s
1950s
6,093 births
- 1960s
1960s
9,745 births
- 1970s
1970s
11,800 births
- 1980s
1980s
5,668 births
- 1990s 3,098
1990s
3,098 births
- 2000s 3,067
2000s
3,067 births
- 2010s 1,676
2010s
1,676 births
- 2020s 321
2020s
321 births
What this shows Peak: 1970s at 11,800 births (22% of all-time use).
How Gretchen compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Gretchen's total volume
Gretchen by state
Where Gretchen concentrates geographically, total births since 1882
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Pennsylvania | | 4,227 | 7.9% |
| #2 | Ohio | | 3,986 | 7.4% |
| #3 | California | | 3,746 | 7.0% |
| #4 | New York | | 3,552 | 6.6% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 2,784 | 5.2% |
| #6 | Minnesota | | 2,680 | 5.0% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 2,607 | 4.8% |
| #8 | Indiana | | 1,975 | 3.7% |
4,227 of 53,799 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Gretchen appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Gretchen? ▼
Where does Gretchen sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Gretchen most popular? ▼
Where is Gretchen most popular? ▼
How long has the name Gretchen been used? ▼
What names are similar to Gretchen? ▼
What to do with Gretchen's data
- Gretchen's decade-level peak was the 1970s (11,800 total births); usage has since declined to 321 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Pennsylvania records the most Gretchens (4,227 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Pennsylvania names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Gretchen
Nearby Names Like Gretchen
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Gretchen
Compare Gretchen side by side: Gretchen vs Greta Gretchen vs Grecia Gretchen vs Gretta
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Gretchen
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Gretchen: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1973)
Similar record span (~143 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1882–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Gretchen draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.