Martha
Martha was given to 393 girls in 2025, #713 among girls’ names; 553,732 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 225,000 Americans named Martha and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (41% of everyone recorded); the median is 71 years old and half are between 59 and 79.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Martha by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Martha mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Martha is “a female given name from Aramaic of biblical origin.” Its etymology gives the sense “mistress” (מָרְתָא).
From Latin Martha, from Ancient Greek Μάρθα (Mártha), from Aramaic מָרְתָא (mārtā, “mistress”), feminine of מרא (mārā). Doublet of Marfa.
(humidity chamber): From the use of Martha Stewart-branded storage closets in the construction of early units.
/ˈmɑɹθə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Martha?
#713 among girls’ names, 2025
Martha rose from #772 in 2015 to #713 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.21 to 0.24 per 1,000.
10,673 babies in 1947, the peak
Martha peaked in 1947, when 10,673 babies were given it (10,651 girls, #32 among girls’ names). The 393 births of 2025 are 4% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 393 | #713 | 0.24 |
| 2024 | 435 | #666 | 0.27 |
| 2023 | 439 | #671 | 0.27 |
| 2022 | 405 | #724 | 0.25 |
| 2021 | 395 | #725 | 0.24 |
| 2020 | 354 | #767 | 0.22 |
| 2019 | 349 | #794 | 0.21 |
| 2018 | 349 | #784 | 0.21 |
| 2017 | 376 | #746 | 0.22 |
| 2016 | 397 | #717 | 0.22 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 367 | #772 | 0.21 |
| 2014 | 383 | #735 | 0.21 |
| 2013 | 344 | #793 | 0.20 |
| 2012 | 392 | #714 | 0.22 |
| 2011 | 374 | #739 | 0.21 |
| 2010 | 412 | #693 | 0.23 |
| 2009 | 451 | #658 | 0.25 |
| 2008 | 505 | #606 | 0.27 |
| 2007 | 531 | #566 | 0.28 |
| 2006 | 583 | #519 | 0.31 |
| 2005 | 601 | #503 | 0.33 |
| 2004 | 603 | #487 | 0.33 |
| 2003 | 640 | #466 | 0.35 |
| 2002 | 718 | #405 | 0.40 |
| 2001 | 759 | #384 | 0.42 |
| 2000 | 788 | #373 | 0.43 |
| 1999 | 742 | #384 | 0.42 |
| 1998 | 779 | #368 | 0.44 |
| 1997 | 863 | #330 | 0.50 |
| 1996 | 881 | #319 | 0.50 |
| 1995 | 928 | #299 | 0.53 |
| 1994 | 954 | #289 | 0.53 |
| 1993 | 1,058 | #263 | 0.58 |
| 1992 | 1,146 | #242 | 0.62 |
| 1991 | 1,132 | #246 | 0.60 |
| 1990 | 1,267 | #224 | 0.67 |
| 1989 | 1,249 | #220 | 0.68 |
| 1988 | 1,138 | #231 | 0.64 |
| 1987 | 1,143 | #236 | 0.66 |
| 1986 | 1,153 | #227 | 0.67 |
| 1985 | 1,221 | #211 | 0.71 |
| 1984 | 1,210 | #216 | 0.72 |
| 1983 | 1,349 | #196 | 0.81 |
| 1982 | 1,449 | #188 | 0.86 |
| 1981 | 1,572 | #175 | 0.94 |
| 1980 | 1,555 | #178 | 0.94 |
| 1979 | 1,443 | #185 | 0.90 |
| 1978 | 1,486 | #176 | 1.0 |
| 1977 | 1,596 | #171 | 1.0 |
| 1976 | 1,598 | #161 | 1.1 |
| 1975 | 1,792 | #149 | 1.2 |
| 1974 | 1,834 | #150 | 1.2 |
| 1973 | 1,725 | #158 | 1.2 |
| 1972 | 1,894 | #151 | 1.2 |
| 1971 | 2,190 | #147 | 1.3 |
| 1970 | 2,368 | #143 | 1.4 |
| 1969 | 2,428 | #139 | 1.4 |
| 1968 | 2,582 | #123 | 1.6 |
| 1967 | 2,910 | #117 | 1.8 |
| 1966 | 3,270 | #106 | 1.9 |
| 1965 | 3,801 | #99 | 2.2 |
| 1964 | 4,448 | #95 | 2.3 |
| 1963 | 4,887 | #90 | 2.5 |
| 1962 | 5,159 | #87 | 2.6 |
| 1961 | 5,724 | #81 | 2.8 |
| 1960 | 5,831 | #83 | 2.9 |
| 1959 | 6,439 | #72 | 3.2 |
| 1958 | 6,750 | #69 | 3.4 |
| 1957 | 7,361 | #63 | 3.6 |
| 1956 | 7,711 | #59 | 3.8 |
| 1955 | 7,930 | #53 | 4.1 |
| 1954 | 8,596 | #46 | 4.4 |
| 1953 | 9,263 | #41 | 4.9 |
| 1952 | 9,696 | #40 | 5.2 |
| 1951 | 9,605 | #38 | 5.3 |
| 1950 | 9,839 | #32 | 5.7 |
| 1949 | 9,808 | #34 | 5.7 |
| 1948 | 10,011 | #32 | 5.9 |
| 1947 | 10,651 | #32 | 6.0 |
| 1946 | 9,759 | #32 | 6.2 |
| 1945 | 8,752 | #30 | 6.7 |
| 1944 | 9,335 | #29 | 7.0 |
| 1943 | 9,704 | #29 | 7.0 |
| 1942 | 9,513 | #29 | 7.0 |
| 1941 | 9,156 | #25 | 7.6 |
| 1940 | 8,695 | #26 | 7.6 |
| 1939 | 8,493 | #27 | 7.7 |
| 1938 | 8,578 | #26 | 7.8 |
| 1937 | 7,953 | #24 | 7.5 |
| 1936 | 7,392 | #24 | 7.1 |
| 1935 | 7,621 | #24 | 7.3 |
| 1934 | 7,604 | #27 | 7.3 |
| 1933 | 7,164 | #27 | 7.1 |
| 1932 | 7,579 | #27 | 7.1 |
| 1931 | 7,481 | #28 | 7.0 |
| 1930 | 7,832 | #27 | 7.0 |
| 1929 | 7,639 | #27 | 6.8 |
| 1928 | 8,252 | #22 | 7.2 |
| 1927 | 8,304 | #24 | 7.0 |
| 1926 | 8,556 | #24 | 7.2 |
| 1925 | 8,762 | #23 | 7.2 |
| 1924 | 9,320 | #21 | 7.5 |
| 1923 | 8,961 | #21 | 7.4 |
| 1922 | 9,021 | #21 | 7.5 |
| 1921 | 9,264 | #21 | 7.5 |
| 1920 | 8,709 | #23 | 7.3 |
| 1919 | 8,322 | #25 | 7.4 |
| 1918 | 8,341 | #25 | 7.2 |
| 1917 | 8,261 | #22 | 7.6 |
| 1916 | 7,610 | #24 | 7.3 |
| 1915 | 7,216 | #25 | 7.3 |
| 1914 | 5,432 | #27 | 7.1 |
| 1913 | 4,538 | #28 | 7.3 |
| 1912 | 3,911 | #29 | 7.0 |
| 1911 | 3,019 | #28 | 7.2 |
| 1910 | 2,858 | #28 | 7.2 |
| 1909 | 2,510 | #28 | 7.2 |
| 1908 | 2,324 | #32 | 7.0 |
| 1907 | 2,274 | #31 | 7.1 |
| 1906 | 2,199 | #29 | 7.4 |
| 1905 | 2,091 | #32 | 7.2 |
| 1904 | 2,019 | #29 | 7.3 |
| 1903 | 1,980 | #29 | 7.6 |
| 1902 | 2,030 | #30 | 7.7 |
| 1901 | 1,886 | #29 | 7.9 |
| 1900 | 2,437 | #28 | 8.1 |
| 1899 | 1,907 | #28 | 8.2 |
| 1898 | 2,184 | #25 | 8.4 |
| 1897 | 1,990 | #26 | 8.5 |
| 1896 | 2,022 | #26 | 8.5 |
| 1895 | 2,096 | #25 | 9.0 |
| 1894 | 1,968 | #24 | 8.8 |
| 1893 | 1,805 | #25 | 8.5 |
| 1892 | 1,915 | #24 | 9.0 |
| 1891 | 1,744 | #21 | 9.4 |
| 1890 | 1,784 | #22 | 9.4 |
| 1889 | 1,711 | #21 | 9.6 |
| 1888 | 1,769 | #19 | 9.9 |
| 1887 | 1,504 | #17 | 10.3 |
| 1886 | 1,491 | #18 | 10.3 |
| 1885 | 1,425 | #17 | 10.7 |
| 1884 | 1,443 | #16 | 11.2 |
| 1883 | 1,255 | #15 | 11.2 |
| 1882 | 1,229 | #14 | 11.4 |
| 1881 | 1,044 | #17 | 11.4 |
| 1880 | 1,040 | #16 | 11.4 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Martha a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Martha has been given almost only to girls: 1,991 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Martha: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Martha, and how old are they?
225,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 41% of the 553,732 Americans ever recorded as Martha. The median Martha alive today is 71 years old; half are between 59 and 79.
The 2020 Census counted 368,239 people named Martha (367,718 women and girls, 521 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 267,040 born in the U.S. The Census count is 38% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 46,100 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 113,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 31,900 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 18,500 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 9,630 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 4,960 |
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 Martha born?
The states with the most babies named Martha are Texas, California and Pennsylvania, with 20% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 41,053 | #756 | 1.4× |
| California | 29,850 | #1,135 | 1.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 28,365 | #217 | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 27,395 | #500 | 1.1× |
| Georgia | 26,846 | #965 | 1.8× |
| North Carolina | 24,063 | #718 | 1.5× |
| New York | 22,607 | #818 | 0.5× |
| Tennessee | 22,245 | #421 | 1.8× |
| Alabama | 21,382 | #472 | 1.7× |
| Illinois | 18,852 | #900 | 0.7× |
Where Martha is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Martha is most over-represented in Georgia: since 1910 it was given 1.8 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 Martha 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 2 names spelled alike, given to 554,030 babies since 1880, Martha is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 393 of their 393 babies (100%), 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 Martha
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 Martha and names like it
- Compare Martha and MartheBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sMartha peaked in 1947.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Martha since 1910.
- The top names of 1947The year the most babies were named Martha.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Martha alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with MMost given first.