Golda
Golden or gilded, derived from the Yiddish name גולדע (Golde).
Name Census estimates that about 1,769 living Americans carry the first name Golda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Golda today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Golda births was 1915 (158 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Golda. 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 Golda with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.8K
~ 1 in 193,756 Americans
Peak year
1915
158 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,666
Tracked since 1880
Census
Golda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,961 people with the first name Golda, which placed it at #7,680 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
#7,680
National first-name rank
People counted
2.0K
1,961 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
77.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Golda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Golda is White at 77.2%. The next largest groups are Black (11.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.1%). 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 Golda 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 Golda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.2% · 1,513
- Black or African American11.1% · 218
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.1% · 119
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 73
- Two or more races1.7% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 5
Popularity
Golda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Golda from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 1,241 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Golda 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 Golda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Goldas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 23 states and territories. New York, Kentucky, Missouri recorded the most babies named Golda, while Michigan, Georgia, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 103 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Golda
The name Golda has its roots in the Yiddish language, which is a Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jewish communities in Central and Eastern Europe. Golda is derived from the German word "gold," meaning "gold" or "golden," reflecting the precious metal's value and desirability.
In the Jewish tradition, Golda was often used as a feminine given name, likely influenced by its positive connotations of beauty, value, and preciousness. The name's popularity can be traced back to the Middle Ages, particularly in Jewish communities across Europe.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Golda can be found in the 16th century, when Golda Bamberger, a Jewish woman from Germany, was mentioned in historical records as a prominent figure in her community.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Golda. One of the most famous is Golda Meir (1898-1978), the fourth Prime Minister of Israel and a influential figure in the establishment of the modern State of Israel. She was born in Kyiv, then part of the Russian Empire, and her leadership during the Yom Kippur War of 1973 cemented her reputation as a formidable stateswoman.
Another prominent Golda was Golda Werman (1908-1962), a Polish-born American sculptor and artist known for her figurative works and portraits. Her sculptures can be found in various museums and public spaces across the United States.
In the realm of literature, Golda Eckstine (1919-2012) was an American writer and poet, best known for her book "The Furious Mourner" and her contributions to the Harlem Renaissance literary movement.
Golda Schultz (born 1982) is a contemporary South African soprano opera singer who has performed on prestigious stages worldwide, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
Golda Walters (1919-2010) was a British actress and singer who had a successful career on stage and television, most notably in the long-running British soap opera "EastEnders."
While the name Golda has its origins in the Yiddish language and Jewish culture, it has transcended these boundaries and been embraced by individuals from various backgrounds, reflecting the universal appeal of its meaning and the enduring legacy of those who have borne this name throughout history.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Golda
People
Golda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Golda as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Golda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Golda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,769 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Golda 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 193,756 US residents.
Is Golda a common name?
We classify Golda as "Rare". It ranks above 93.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,365 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Golda most popular?
The single biggest year for Golda was 1915, when 158 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Golda is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Golda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,961 people with the name Golda, or 0.65 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,680 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 Golda 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 Golda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Golda appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,965 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Golda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Golda is White at 77.2%. The next largest groups are Black (11.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.1%). 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 Golda most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Golda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.2% (1,513 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 Golda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Golda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Golda 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 Golda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Golda 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 Golda 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 Golda as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Golda on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.