Retha vs Retta
American parents have registered 10,597 Rethas since 1880, against 3,399 Rettas. But in 2025 it was Retta that was commoner, 7 babies to fewer than five.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Retha Retta
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 128 years in which either name was published, Retha for 99 years and Retta for 29 years. The lead changed hands 8 times.
Side by side
| Retha | Retta | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 10,597 | 3,399 |
| Most in one year | 252 | 60 |
| Babies in 2025 | under 5 | 7 |
| Estimated living today | 4,000 | 1,200 |
| Median age today | 72 | 70 |
| Peak year | 1924 | 1922 |
| Best rank | 438th girls | 962nd girls |
| Rank in 2025 | unranked | 11,932nd |
| First recorded | 1884 | 1880 |
| Girls / boys | 10,597 / 0 | 3,399 / 0 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Rethas alive today are over 72; half the Rettas are over 70. That is 2 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Retha Arkansas (7.4×), Oklahoma (5.6×), West Virginia (5.4×)
- Retta Oklahoma (10.3×), West Virginia (9.8×), Tennessee (5.9×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Retha and Retta.