ninan.org

Martha

Girls' name · Mid-century perennial

Living in the US
~242,100 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#712 among girls
Births in 2025
393 553,732 since 1880
Typical age
71 years, median

Martha popularity over time

Martha rank by birth year, 1880–2025Martha ranked #16 in 1880 and #712 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #14, in 1882.#100#1,000#712best #14 in 188218901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

The high point was 1947: 10,673 births recorded as Martha. It is present from 1880, the first year of the record. Across the record, 86 years put Martha in the top 100.

As of 2025 the name sits at #712, with 393 births that year. Year on year the rank dropped by 46.

Babies named Martha per yearPeaks at 10,673 births in 1947.10,673 in 1947018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Martha?

An estimated 242,100 living Americans are called Martha. That is out of 553,732 recorded births since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Martha?

Half of living Marthas are older than 71, half younger. Most living bearers were born in the 1950s. By the site’s era rules that makes Martha a mid-century perennial name.

Your Martha

Ages of living people named MarthaHalf of living Marthas are older than 71 and half younger.median 71020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Martha is most common

The name is concentrated in Pennsylvania, at 3.8× the national rate. Kentucky, Indiana and Wisconsin follow.

Where Martha is used more than average5 states use the name Martha more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: 1.9× the national rateWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: 2.2× the national rateINOhio: 1.7× the national rateOHPennsylvania: 3.8× the national ratePANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: 2.5× the national rateKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Martha is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Pennsylvania 448 3.8×
Kentucky 108 2.5×
Indiana 157 2.2×
Wisconsin 98 1.9×
Ohio 205 1.7×

Martha in England and Wales

ONS recorded 302 births named Martha in 2025, ranking it #164. That is 28% lower than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Martha comes from

From Latin Martha, from Ancient Greek Μάρθα, from Aramaic מָרְתָא (“mistress”), feminine of מרא. Doublet of Marfa. From the use of Martha Stewart-branded storage closets in the construction of early units.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Martha

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Martha Washington First Lady of the United States from 1789 to 1797 1731–1802 73
Martha Argerich Argentine pianist (1941-) 1941 57
Martha Graham American dancer and choreographer 1894–1991 56
Martha Stewart American businesswoman, writer, TV personality 1941 55
Martha Nussbaum American philosopher 1947 48
Martha Gellhorn journalist from the United States 1908–1998 44
Martha Jefferson Randolph First Lady of the United States from 1801 to 1809 1772–1836 40
Martha Scott American actress 1912–2003 39
Photo credits (7)

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Names similar to Martha

Matched by sound and spelling inside this dataset, then ordered by total recorded births. This is not a claim about shared etymology.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/martha.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).