Marietta
Feminine form of the masculine name Mario, derived from the Latin word "mare" meaning "sea".
Name Census estimates that about 5,766 living Americans carry the first name Marietta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marietta today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marietta births was 1921 (295 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marietta. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Marietta with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
5.8K
~ 1 in 59,444 Americans
Peak year
1921
295 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,608
Tracked since 1880
Census
Marietta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 9,108 people with the first name Marietta, which placed it at #2,615 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
#2,615
National first-name rank
People counted
9.1K
9,108 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
61.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marietta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marietta is White at 61.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.6%) and Black (13.7%). 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 Marietta 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 Marietta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.0% · 5,553
- Asian and Pacific Islander15.6% · 1,421
- Black or African American13.7% · 1,251
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 566
- Two or more races1.9% · 174
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 143
Popularity
Marietta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marietta from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 2,440 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marietta 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 Marietta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mariettas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 40 states and territories. New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Marietta, while Idaho, Oregon, South Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 229 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marietta
Marietta is a feminine given name with roots tracing back to ancient Greece and Rome. The name is a diminutive form of the Latin name Maria, which in turn derives from the Hebrew name Miryam. Miryam is believed to have originated from the ancient Egyptian words "mry" meaning beloved and "iamu" meaning sea or ocean.
The name Marietta first appeared in medieval Europe, particularly in Italy, where it was a common diminutive of Maria. During the Renaissance period, the name gained popularity across various regions of Europe, including France, Spain, and Portugal. It was often associated with the Virgin Mary, reflecting the strong Catholic influence of the time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Marietta is found in the works of the Italian poet Petrarch, who lived from 1304 to 1374. He mentioned a woman named Marietta in his poetry, though little is known about her historical identity. In the 16th century, Marietta Robusti, an Italian Renaissance painter, was known for her self-portraits and religious works.
During the 17th century, Marietta Piccolomini (1599-1656) was an Italian opera singer and one of the first female performers to achieve widespread fame. She was celebrated for her exceptional vocal talents and performed in various cities across Europe. Around the same time, Marietta de Rietri (1635-1690) was a Venetian painter renowned for her portraits and mythological scenes.
In the 18th century, Marietta Alboni (1826-1894) was an Italian operatic contralto who achieved international acclaim for her performances in various operas, particularly those of Rossini and Verdi. She was celebrated for her powerful and expressive voice, and her career spanned several decades.
Another notable figure was Marietta Holley (1836-1926), an American humorist and writer best known for her satirical novels written under the pen name "Josiah Allen's Wife." Her works offered insightful commentary on social issues of the time, such as women's rights and temperance.
Over the centuries, the name Marietta has maintained a presence in various cultures and regions, though its popularity has waxed and waned. Its rich history and connections to the arts, literature, and notable figures have contributed to its enduring appeal as a feminine given name.
People
Marietta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marietta as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Marietta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marietta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,766 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marietta 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 59,444 US residents.
Is Marietta a common name?
We classify Marietta as "Rare". It ranks above 96.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15,013 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marietta most popular?
The single biggest year for Marietta was 1921, when 295 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marietta is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marietta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 9,108 people with the name Marietta, or 3.02 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,615 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 Marietta 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 Marietta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marietta appears almost entirely female. Of the 9,123 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Marietta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marietta is White at 61.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.6%) and Black (13.7%). 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 Marietta most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Marietta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.0% (5,553 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 Marietta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marietta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marietta 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 Marietta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marietta 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 Marietta 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 Marietta as a first name?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Marietta at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.