Letha
Letha was last recorded in 2020, when 5 babies were given it; 19,162 Americans have been recorded with it between 1880 and 2020 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 5,310 Americans named Letha and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (28% of everyone recorded); the median is 68 years old and half are between 59 and 78.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Letha by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
How popular is Letha?
Unranked in 2025
Its last girls’ rank on record is #16,505, in 2020; SSA lists a name only in years with 5 or more births.
473 babies in 1918, the peak
Letha peaked in 1918, when 473 girls were given it, #293 among girls’ names. It was not recorded in 2025.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 5 | #16,505 | under 0.01 |
| 2019 | 6 | #14,825 | under 0.01 |
| 2016 | 9 | #11,393 | 0.01 |
| 2015 | 8 | #12,485 | under 0.01 |
| 2014 | 9 | #11,523 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 7 | #14,025 | under 0.01 |
| 2012 | 6 | #16,063 | under 0.01 |
| 2011 | 6 | #15,941 | under 0.01 |
| 2009 | 5 | #18,968 | under 0.01 |
| 2007 | 11 | #10,532 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (133)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 8 | #12,277 | under 0.01 |
| 2002 | 8 | #11,717 | under 0.01 |
| 2001 | 8 | #11,584 | under 0.01 |
| 2000 | 6 | #14,202 | under 0.01 |
| 1999 | 14 | #7,058 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 8 | #10,368 | under 0.01 |
| 1996 | 17 | #5,669 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 11 | #7,832 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 12 | #7,382 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 13 | #6,869 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 23 | #4,460 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 16 | #5,819 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 12 | #7,123 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 25 | #3,958 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 23 | #3,961 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 32 | #2,995 | 0.02 |
| 1986 | 22 | #3,826 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 24 | #3,580 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 25 | #3,381 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 27 | #3,107 | 0.02 |
| 1982 | 35 | #2,677 | 0.02 |
| 1981 | 49 | #2,102 | 0.03 |
| 1980 | 38 | #2,512 | 0.02 |
| 1979 | 49 | #2,070 | 0.03 |
| 1978 | 61 | #1,716 | 0.04 |
| 1977 | 56 | #1,818 | 0.04 |
| 1976 | 46 | #1,954 | 0.03 |
| 1975 | 46 | #1,948 | 0.03 |
| 1974 | 55 | #1,675 | 0.04 |
| 1973 | 79 | #1,298 | 0.05 |
| 1972 | 90 | #1,198 | 0.06 |
| 1971 | 95 | #1,200 | 0.06 |
| 1970 | 94 | #1,203 | 0.05 |
| 1969 | 96 | #1,134 | 0.06 |
| 1968 | 89 | #1,140 | 0.05 |
| 1967 | 131 | #896 | 0.08 |
| 1966 | 162 | #773 | 0.10 |
| 1965 | 185 | #732 | 0.10 |
| 1964 | 170 | #802 | 0.09 |
| 1963 | 158 | #831 | 0.08 |
| 1962 | 171 | #799 | 0.09 |
| 1961 | 169 | #806 | 0.08 |
| 1960 | 180 | #759 | 0.09 |
| 1959 | 202 | #704 | 0.10 |
| 1958 | 171 | #764 | 0.09 |
| 1957 | 157 | #808 | 0.08 |
| 1956 | 214 | #654 | 0.11 |
| 1955 | 172 | #723 | 0.09 |
| 1954 | 156 | #741 | 0.08 |
| 1953 | 165 | #711 | 0.09 |
| 1952 | 134 | #770 | 0.07 |
| 1951 | 132 | #771 | 0.07 |
| 1950 | 159 | #672 | 0.09 |
| 1949 | 154 | #671 | 0.09 |
| 1948 | 167 | #643 | 0.10 |
| 1947 | 205 | #597 | 0.12 |
| 1946 | 149 | #648 | 0.09 |
| 1945 | 160 | #580 | 0.12 |
| 1944 | 185 | #534 | 0.14 |
| 1943 | 170 | #578 | 0.12 |
| 1942 | 164 | #578 | 0.12 |
| 1941 | 190 | #503 | 0.16 |
| 1940 | 196 | #491 | 0.17 |
| 1939 | 194 | #480 | 0.18 |
| 1938 | 212 | #463 | 0.19 |
| 1937 | 224 | #439 | 0.21 |
| 1936 | 214 | #442 | 0.21 |
| 1935 | 222 | #433 | 0.21 |
| 1934 | 248 | #415 | 0.24 |
| 1933 | 235 | #418 | 0.23 |
| 1932 | 250 | #414 | 0.23 |
| 1931 | 249 | #410 | 0.23 |
| 1930 | 296 | #394 | 0.26 |
| 1929 | 296 | #391 | 0.27 |
| 1928 | 307 | #383 | 0.27 |
| 1927 | 327 | #380 | 0.27 |
| 1926 | 397 | #330 | 0.33 |
| 1925 | 383 | #344 | 0.31 |
| 1924 | 401 | #336 | 0.32 |
| 1923 | 401 | #325 | 0.33 |
| 1922 | 398 | #328 | 0.33 |
| 1921 | 428 | #316 | 0.35 |
| 1920 | 429 | #316 | 0.36 |
| 1919 | 450 | #299 | 0.40 |
| 1918 | 473 | #293 | 0.41 |
| 1917 | 442 | #293 | 0.41 |
| 1916 | 445 | #284 | 0.43 |
| 1915 | 452 | #277 | 0.46 |
| 1914 | 347 | #282 | 0.46 |
| 1913 | 313 | #262 | 0.50 |
| 1912 | 261 | #280 | 0.47 |
| 1911 | 225 | #258 | 0.54 |
| 1910 | 202 | #274 | 0.51 |
| 1909 | 191 | #260 | 0.55 |
| 1908 | 198 | #244 | 0.59 |
| 1907 | 181 | #257 | 0.57 |
| 1906 | 169 | #250 | 0.57 |
| 1905 | 174 | #240 | 0.60 |
| 1904 | 155 | #254 | 0.56 |
| 1903 | 165 | #231 | 0.63 |
| 1902 | 159 | #242 | 0.60 |
| 1901 | 147 | #239 | 0.61 |
| 1900 | 182 | #237 | 0.61 |
| 1899 | 129 | #247 | 0.55 |
| 1898 | 157 | #234 | 0.61 |
| 1897 | 140 | #238 | 0.60 |
| 1896 | 128 | #253 | 0.54 |
| 1895 | 117 | #261 | 0.50 |
| 1894 | 95 | #284 | 0.43 |
| 1893 | 106 | #260 | 0.50 |
| 1892 | 107 | #255 | 0.50 |
| 1891 | 82 | #274 | 0.44 |
| 1890 | 89 | #266 | 0.47 |
| 1889 | 59 | #320 | 0.33 |
| 1888 | 63 | #300 | 0.35 |
| 1887 | 45 | #320 | 0.31 |
| 1886 | 50 | #293 | 0.35 |
| 1885 | 43 | #308 | 0.32 |
| 1884 | 48 | #278 | 0.37 |
| 1883 | 29 | #334 | 0.26 |
| 1882 | 40 | #280 | 0.37 |
| 1881 | 31 | #284 | 0.34 |
| 1880 | 25 | #322 | 0.27 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Letha a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Letha has been given almost only to girls: 25 boys in 133 years of records.
Girls and boys named Letha: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Letha, and how old are they?
5,310 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 28% of the 19,162 Americans ever recorded as Letha. The median Letha alive today is 68 years old; half are between 59 and 78.
The 2020 Census counted 5,586 people named Letha (5,572 women and girls, 14 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 6,510 born in the U.S. The Census count is 14% 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 | 1,060 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,470 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,260 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 355 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 79 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 44 |
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 Letha born?
The states with the most babies named Letha are Texas, North Carolina and Oklahoma, with 28% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Oklahoma is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 1,482 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| North Carolina | 1,044 | not ranked | 2.0× |
| Oklahoma | 981 | not ranked | 3.2× |
| Missouri | 785 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Arkansas | 660 | not ranked | 2.5× |
| South Carolina | 611 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Mississippi | 601 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Kentucky | 552 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Illinois | 519 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Ohio | 485 | not ranked | 0.6× |
Where Letha is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Letha is most over-represented in Oklahoma: since 1910 it was given 3.2 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 Letha 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 7 names spelled alike, given to 27,694 babies since 1880, Letha is the most given (69% of them).
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 Letha
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 Letha and names like it
- Compare Letha and LeathaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sLetha peaked in 1918.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Letha since 1910.
- The top names of 1918The year the most babies were named Letha.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Letha alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with LMost given first.