Aretta
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "virtue" or "excellence".
Name Census estimates that about 314 living Americans carry the first name Aretta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Aretta today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aretta births was 1923 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aretta. 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 Aretta is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Arettas were born before 1965.
People living today
314
~ 1 in 1,091,574 Americans
Peak year
1923
33 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
1991 SSA rank
#11,625
Tracked since 1900
Census
Aretta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 433 people with the first name Aretta, which placed it at #22,843 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
#22,843
National first-name rank
People counted
433
433 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aretta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aretta is White at 68.8%. The next largest groups are Black (23.1%) and Two or More Races (5.3%). 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 Aretta 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 Aretta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.8% · 298
- Black or African American23.1% · 100
- Two or more races5.3% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 3
Popularity
Aretta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aretta from the 1900s through to the 1990s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 272 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
Aretta 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 Aretta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Arettas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Aretta, while Texas, North Carolina, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 27 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aretta
The name Aretta is believed to have originated from the Greek language, with its roots traced back to the ancient city of Arta, located in northwestern Greece. This city was once known as Ambracia during the classical period of Greek history. The name Aretta is thought to be a feminine form derived from the name of the city.
In Greek mythology, Arta was associated with the god Apollo, who was revered as the patron of the city. The name Aretta may have been used as a tribute to this divine connection, bestowing upon the bearer the blessings and protection of the god Apollo.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Aretta can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who mentioned a woman named Aretta in his work "The Histories," written in the 5th century BC. This early reference suggests that the name was in use during the classical era of ancient Greece.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Aretta. One such figure was Aretta the Younger (c. 100 BC – 60 BC), a wealthy Greek woman from the island of Naxos, who was known for her philanthropic efforts and support of the arts and literature.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Aretta of Nazareth (c. 1230 – 1300), a Flemish mystic and Beguine who lived during the 13th century. She is remembered for her religious devotion and her writings on spiritual matters, which influenced the mystical traditions of her time.
In the realm of literature, the name Aretta was immortalized by the American poet and novelist Julia Ward Howe (1819 – 1910) in her work "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." In this famous poem, she referred to a character named Aretta, symbolizing the virtues of courage and strength.
Another notable figure was Aretta Douglas Harless (1868 – 1952), an American educator and advocate for women's rights. She was a pioneer in the field of home economics and played a significant role in promoting education and empowerment for women in the early 20th century.
Lastly, the name Aretta was borne by Aretta Gooden (1921 – 2009), an American civil rights activist and educator. She was a prominent figure in the struggle for racial equality and dedicated her life to advocating for educational opportunities for underprivileged communities.
People
Aretta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aretta as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Aretta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aretta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 314 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aretta 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 1,091,574 US residents.
Is Aretta a common name?
We classify Aretta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,142 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aretta most popular?
The single biggest year for Aretta was 1923, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aretta is about 71 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Aretta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 433 people with the name Aretta, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,843 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 Aretta 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 Aretta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aretta appears almost entirely female. Of the 427 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 Aretta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aretta is White at 68.8%. The next largest groups are Black (23.1%) and Two or More Races (5.3%). 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 Aretta most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Aretta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.8% (298 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 Aretta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aretta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aretta 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 Aretta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aretta 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 Aretta 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 are named Aretta?
Want to know how many people have the name Aretta? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.