Laretha
A feminine given name derived from the name Loretta, of uncertain origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 186 living Americans carry the first name Laretha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Laretha today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Laretha births was 1971 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Laretha. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
186
~ 1 in 1,842,765 Americans
Peak year
1971
13 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
1991 SSA rank
#10,926
Tracked since 1937
Census
Laretha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 218 people with the first name Laretha, which placed it at #36,419 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#36,419
National first-name rank
People counted
218
218 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
82.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Laretha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Laretha is Black at 82.1%. The next largest groups are White (17.4%) and Hispanic (0.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Laretha described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Laretha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American82.1% · 179
- White17.4% · 38
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 1
Popularity
Laretha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Laretha from the 1930s through to the 1990s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 79 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Laretha by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Laretha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Laretha
The name Laretha is a feminine given name of African American origin, derived from the name Aretha, which itself is a variant of the Greek name Aretē, meaning "virtue" or "excellence." The name Laretha gained popularity in the United States during the 20th century, particularly among African American communities.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Laretha can be traced back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, although its usage was relatively uncommon at that time. As the name gained traction among African Americans, it became associated with strength, resilience, and cultural pride.
One of the most notable individuals to bear the name Laretha was Laretha Houston (1910-1995), an American educator and civil rights activist. She dedicated her life to promoting educational opportunities for African American students and was a prominent figure in the fight against racial segregation in schools.
Another historically significant figure named Laretha was Laretha Frazier (1919-2010), an American entrepreneur and businesswoman. She founded the Laretha Frazier Beauty School in Detroit, Michigan, which provided vocational training and employment opportunities for countless African American women.
In the realm of music, Laretha McCall (1925-2007) was a renowned American gospel singer and songwriter. She is credited with introducing the concept of "gospel rap" and was a pioneer in blending gospel music with contemporary styles.
The name Laretha also found its way into literature, with Laretha Moss being a notable character in the novel "The Salt Eaters" by Toni Cade Bambara, published in 1980. The character represented the strength and resilience of African American women in the face of adversity.
Lastly, Laretha Norwood (1935-2021) was an American social worker and community organizer who dedicated her life to improving the lives of underprivileged families in Chicago. She founded the Laretha Norwood Community Outreach Program, which provided essential services and resources to those in need.
While the name Laretha may not be as widely used today as it once was, it carries a rich history and cultural significance, particularly within the African American community. Its connection to the name Aretha and its associations with virtue, excellence, and resilience have made it a powerful and meaningful choice for many families throughout the years.
People
Laretha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Laretha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Laretha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Laretha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 186 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Laretha going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,842,765 US residents.
Is Laretha a common name?
We classify Laretha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 227 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Laretha most popular?
The single biggest year for Laretha was 1971, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Laretha is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Laretha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 218 people with the name Laretha, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,419 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Laretha in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Laretha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Laretha appears almost entirely female. Of the 217 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Laretha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Laretha is Black at 82.1%. The next largest groups are White (17.4%) and Hispanic (0.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Laretha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Laretha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.1% (179 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Laretha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Laretha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Laretha in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Laretha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Laretha in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Laretha can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Laretha as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Laretha, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.