Eartha
A feminine name derived from the English word "earth".
Name Census estimates that about 1,338 living Americans carry the first name Eartha. It is a predominantly female name (98.9% of registrations). The average person named Eartha today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eartha births was 1955 (108 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eartha. 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 Eartha is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Earthas were born before 1967.
People living today
1.3K
~ 1 in 256,169 Americans
Peak year
1955
108 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
1953 SSA rank
#3,965
Tracked since 1905
Gender
Gender distribution for Eartha
Eartha leans heavily female at 98.9% of total registrations, but 32 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Eartha as a male name
- Ranked #3,965 in 1953
- 5 male births in 1953
- Peak: 1925 (6 births)
Eartha as a female name
- Ranked #15,761 in 2020
- 5 female births in 2020
- Peak: 1955 (108 births)
Popularity
Eartha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eartha from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 749 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
Eartha 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 Eartha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Earthas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. South Carolina, Florida, Alabama recorded the most babies named Eartha, while Delaware, Pennsylvania, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 101 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Eartha
The given name Eartha is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "eorthe," which means "earth" or "ground." This name likely emerged in the medieval period as a reference to the planet Earth or as a symbolic name representing the natural world.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Eartha is found in the 16th century, when it was used as a variant spelling of the more common name "Earth." In the 1500s, a woman named Eartha Swinbourne was recorded in parish records in Worcestershire, England.
The name Eartha gained widespread recognition in the 20th century, primarily due to the American singer and actress Eartha Kitt. Born in 1927 in South Carolina, Eartha Kitt became an iconic figure in the entertainment industry, known for her distinctive vocals and roles in films such as "Anna Lucasta" and the TV series "Batman."
Another notable figure with the name Eartha was Eartha M.M. White, an American educator and civil rights activist born in 1876 in Mississippi. She was a prominent figure in the fight for racial equality and the founder of the Community Relations Council in Jacksonville, Florida.
In the literary world, Eartha M. Vaughn was an American author and educator born in 1906 in Texas. She wrote several books, including "The Sinner and the Saint" and "The Tall House in the Garden."
The name Eartha has also been used by other public figures throughout history, such as Eartha Lawton, an American opera singer born in 1947, and Eartha Pearson, a Canadian sprinter and hurdler who competed in the 1960s and 1970s.
While the name Eartha has seen some usage over the centuries, it has remained relatively uncommon compared to more traditional names. Its unique and earthly connotations, however, have made it a distinctive choice for those seeking a name that connects with the natural world.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Eartha
People
Eartha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eartha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Eartha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eartha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,338 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eartha 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 256,169 US residents.
Is Eartha a common name?
We classify Eartha as "Rare". It ranks above 91.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,952 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eartha most popular?
The single biggest year for Eartha was 1955, when 108 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eartha is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Eartha a female name?
Yes, 98.9% of people registered as Eartha 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.
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.