Karetha
A feminine given name of unknown origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 9 living Americans carry the first name Karetha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Karetha today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Karetha births was 1975 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Karetha. 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 Karetha. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
9
~ 1 in 38,083,815 Americans
Peak year
1975
6 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
1975 SSA rank
#8,449
Tracked since 1962
Popularity
Karetha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Karetha from the 1960s through to the 1970s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Karetha 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 Karetha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Karetha
The name Karetha is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, with its roots traced back to the ancient Indian subcontinent. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "Kareth," which means "beautiful" or "radiant." This linguistic connection suggests that the name was initially used to describe someone with a captivating or attractive appearance.
One of the earliest known references to the name Karetha can be found in the Mahabharata, a renowned Indian epic dating back to around the 8th century BCE. In this ancient text, Karetha is mentioned as the name of a minor character, a princess from a neighboring kingdom. While her role in the epic is relatively small, the inclusion of this name in such a significant work highlights its historical roots.
The name Karetha gained popularity during the Gupta Empire, which ruled over a vast area of the Indian subcontinent from the 4th to the 6th century CE. During this period, several historical records mention individuals bearing the name Karetha, including a renowned scholar and philosopher who lived in the 5th century CE.
In the 10th century CE, a prominent figure named Karetha Devi was recorded as the Queen of the Chalukya dynasty, which ruled over parts of present-day Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in India. Her reign was marked by significant cultural and architectural achievements, solidifying the name's association with royalty and power.
Another notable individual with the name Karetha was a 12th-century Buddhist monk and scholar from the Pala Empire in present-day Bengal. He was renowned for his contributions to the study of Buddhist philosophy and is credited with authoring several influential treatises on the subject.
During the 16th century, a famous poet and mystic named Karetha Bai Joshi gained recognition for her devotional works, which were widely celebrated in the Bhakti movement. Her poetry, which often explored themes of love and spirituality, has been preserved and studied by scholars over the centuries.
While the name Karetha has its roots in the Indian subcontinent, it has also been adopted and used in various other cultures and regions around the world. However, the historical references and examples provided primarily focus on its origins and significance within the context of ancient and medieval Indian history.
People
Karetha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Karetha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Karetha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Karetha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Karetha 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 38,083,815 US residents.
Is Karetha a common name?
We classify Karetha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 25.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Karetha most popular?
The single biggest year for Karetha was 1975, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Karetha is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Karetha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Karetha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Karetha 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 Karetha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Karetha 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 Karetha 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Karetha?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.