Recorded 1885–1989 Girls' name Peak 1921 837 births

Margretta — girls' name

837 babies named Margretta in U.S. Social Security records since 1885, with the highest year being 1921. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s241890s191900s231910s1181920s1621930s991940s1381950s1191960s911970s241980s20
1920s
Peak decade

19% of everyone ever named Margretta was born in this single decade.

1921
Single peak year

22 babies were named Margretta in 1921 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Margretta

The Social Security Administration has registered 837 babies named Margretta between 1885 and 1989, spanning 105 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Margretta currently falls outside the top 1,000 girls' names for 1989. The name reached its historical peak in 1921, when 22 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Margretta performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 162 births during that ten-year window. Across the 11 decades of recorded activity, Margretta shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in Pennsylvania, which accounts for 26 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by . In total, SSA state-level files list Margretta in 1 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Margretta in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 837 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Margretta at a glance

Last recorded 1989

Total births

837

Since 1885

105 years of records

Peak year

1921

22 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

Unranked

Outside the modern top-1,000

As of 1989

Active since

1885

Recorded for 105 years

Last year on file: 1989

Margretta popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1989–1885

Last recorded 1989
Peak year (1921)
22
Annual births at peak — across 105 years of records
0510152025 198919671957194719371927191718991885 5

Margretta by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
162 births that decade — 19% of Margretta's all-time total
1880s241890s191900s231910s1181920s1621930s991940s1381950s1191960s911970s241980s20

Margretta by state

Where Margretta concentrates geographically — total births since 1885

Geographically diffuse
Top 1 states by recorded births for the name Margretta
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Pennsylvania
26 3.1%
Pennsylvania share of Margretta's total US births 3.1%

26 of 837 births nationwide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Margretta?
837 babies have been named Margretta since 1885. It was last recorded in 1989. The peak year was 1921 with 22 births.
When was Margretta most popular?
Margretta was most popular in the 1920s decade with 162 total births. The single peak year was 1921.
Where is Margretta most popular?
The top states for the name Margretta are Pennsylvania (26 births).
How long has the name Margretta been used?
Margretta has been recorded in Social Security data since 1885, spanning 105 years of data through 1989.
What names are similar to Margretta?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Mary, Margaret, Maria, Martha, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

Keep exploring Margretta

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1885–1989 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.