Gretchin
A feminine diminutive form of Germanic origin meaning "little pearl".
Name Census estimates that about 32 living Americans carry the first name Gretchin. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gretchin today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gretchin births was 1974 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gretchin. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Gretchin. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
32
~ 1 in 10,711,073 Americans
Peak year
1974
9 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
1975 SSA rank
#6,720
Tracked since 1970
Census
Gretchin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 124 people with the first name Gretchin, which placed it at #49,647 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
#49,647
National first-name rank
People counted
124
124 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gretchin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gretchin is White at 80.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.0%). 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 Gretchin 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 Gretchin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.6% · 100
- Black or African American10.5% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.0% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 2
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Popularity
Gretchin: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Gretchin 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 Gretchin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0 | 36 | 36 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Gretchin
The name Gretchin is believed to have its origins in the Germanic languages, particularly the Old High German dialect spoken in the regions of modern-day southern Germany and Switzerland during the Middle Ages. It is thought to be a diminutive form of the name Gretchen, which itself is a pet form of the name Margaret.
The name Margaret is derived from the Greek word "margarites," meaning "pearl." This name was popularized in the Christian tradition, as it was associated with a 3rd-century saint named Margaret of Antioch. The legend of Saint Margaret, as recounted in the Golden Legend, describes her as a young woman who was martyred for her unwavering faith.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gretchin can be found in the works of the renowned German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. In his literary masterpiece "Faust," published in 1808, one of the central characters is a young woman named Gretchen, whose story serves as a tragic representation of innocence and vulnerability.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Gretchin. One such figure was Gretchin Bergner (1914-1988), a German-American actress and singer who enjoyed a successful career on both stage and screen. Another was Gretchin Gearhart (1922-2021), an American politician and activist who played a pivotal role in the women's rights movement and served as the first female president of the National Organization for Women (NOW).
In the field of literature, Gretchin Hermes (1927-2009) was an acclaimed American author and poet, known for her evocative works that explored themes of nature, spirituality, and the human condition. The name Gretchin also graced the life of Gretchin Lerner (1940-2021), a pioneering American legal scholar and activist who fought tirelessly for gender equality and civil rights.
Lastly, in the realm of sports, Gretchin Holliday (born 1968) made her mark as a professional tennis player, representing the United States in various international competitions and achieving a career-high ranking of No. 14 in the world.
While these examples showcase the diverse backgrounds and achievements of individuals who have carried the name Gretchin, it is important to note that the name's origins and historical significance are deeply rooted in the cultural and linguistic traditions of the Germanic regions.
People
Gretchin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gretchin 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
Gretchin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gretchin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 32 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gretchin 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 10,711,073 US residents.
Is Gretchin a common name?
We classify Gretchin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 47.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 36 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gretchin most popular?
The single biggest year for Gretchin was 1974, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gretchin is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gretchin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 124 people with the name Gretchin, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #49,647 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 Gretchin 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 Gretchin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gretchin appears almost entirely female. Of the 116 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 Gretchin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gretchin is White at 80.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.0%). 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 Gretchin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Gretchin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.6% (100 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 Gretchin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gretchin a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gretchin 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 Gretchin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gretchin 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 Gretchin 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 the name Gretchin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.