Retta
A feminine given name with disputed origins, possibly derived from words meaning "strong" or "counselor".
Name Census estimates that about 1,010 living Americans carry the first name Retta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Retta today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Retta births was 1922 (60 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Retta. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Retta is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Rettas were born before 1969.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 339,361 Americans
Peak year
1922
60 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,863
Tracked since 1880
Census
Retta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,354 people with the first name Retta, which placed it at #10,009 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
#10,009
National first-name rank
People counted
1.4K
1,354 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Retta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Retta is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Black (13.6%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Retta 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 Retta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.1% · 1,084
- Black or African American13.6% · 184
- Two or more races2.8% · 38
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 7
Popularity
Retta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Retta from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 482 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Retta 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 Retta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rettas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Retta, while Missouri, Michigan, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 16 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Retta
The name Retta is of Italian origin, derived from the word "ritta," which means "upright" or "straight." It can also be traced back to the Latin word "recta," meaning "right" or "correct." The name first appeared in Italy during the late Middle Ages, around the 13th or 14th century.
In its early usage, the name Retta was often associated with virtues such as honesty, integrity, and moral uprightness. It was a popular choice among Italian families who valued these qualities and wished to instill them in their children.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Retta can be found in the archives of the city of Florence, Italy. In the 14th century, there is mention of a woman named Retta di Piero, who was a prominent member of the local community.
Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Retta. In the 16th century, Retta Scuderi was an Italian poet and scholar who was highly regarded for her literary works. She was born in Messina, Sicily, in 1546 and passed away in 1611.
Another historical figure with the name Retta was Retta Gasparini, an Italian painter who lived in the 17th century. She was known for her religious paintings and was commissioned to create works for churches and monasteries throughout Italy. Retta Gasparini was born in Bologna in 1624 and died in 1701.
In the 19th century, Retta Sangiorgi was an Italian educator and activist who fought for women's rights and education reform. She was born in Modena in 1837 and passed away in 1914.
The name Retta has also been found in religious texts and scriptures. In the Catholic tradition, there is a record of a Saint Retta, who was a nun and abbess in the 6th century. She is venerated for her piety and devotion to her religious order.
Another notable figure with the name Retta was Retta Hewitt, an American soprano and vocal coach who lived from 1875 to 1953. She was a highly respected singer and teacher, and her students included many renowned opera performers.
While the name Retta has its roots in Italian culture, it has been adopted and used in various parts of the world throughout history. Its association with virtues such as honesty and integrity has made it a respected and admired name across different societies and time periods.
People
Retta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Retta as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Retta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Retta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,010 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Retta 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 339,361 US residents.
Is Retta a common name?
We classify Retta as "Rare". It ranks above 90.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,391 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Retta most popular?
The single biggest year for Retta was 1922, when 60 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Retta is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Retta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,354 people with the name Retta, or 0.45 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,009 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 Retta 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 Retta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Retta leans strongly female. 1,339 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 15 male bearers (1.1%). 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 Retta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Retta is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Black (13.6%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Retta most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Retta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.1% (1,084 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 Retta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Retta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Retta 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 Retta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Retta 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 Retta 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 Americans are named Retta?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.