Leitha
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly German or an elaborated form of Leah.
Name Census estimates that about 228 living Americans carry the first name Leitha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Leitha today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leitha births was 1916 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leitha. 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 Leitha is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Leithas were born before 1967.
People living today
228
~ 1 in 1,503,309 Americans
Peak year
1916
22 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
1977 SSA rank
#7,253
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Leitha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leitha from the 1880s through to the 1970s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 131 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
Leitha 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 Leitha 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 Leitha
The name Leitha is believed to have originated from the Old German language, with roots dating back to the 8th century. It is derived from the Germanic words "leud" or "liut," meaning "people" or "tribe," and "haid," meaning "kind" or "sort." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a person's affiliation with a particular group or community.
Leitha was a relatively common name among Germanic tribes during the Middle Ages, particularly in the regions that are now parts of modern-day Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Some historians have speculated that the name may have been used to honor the Leitha River, a tributary of the Danube River that flows through Austria and Hungary.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Leitha can be found in the Codex Traditionum Monasterii Sancti Michaelis Bambergensis, a medieval manuscript from the 11th century that contains records of donations and land transfers to the Bamberg monastery in Germany. In this document, a woman named Leitha is mentioned as a landowner in the year 1057.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Leitha. One such person was Leitha von Hagen (c. 1225-1295), a German noblewoman and landowner from the Hagen family. She played a significant role in the administration of her family's estates and was known for her religious devotion and patronage of monastic orders.
Another historical figure with the name Leitha was Leitha von Büren (c. 1380-1445), a Swiss abbess who served as the leader of the Benedictine convent in Engelberg, Switzerland, from 1415 to 1445. She was renowned for her leadership and her efforts to maintain the convent's autonomy during a period of political and religious turmoil.
In the realm of literature, one notable bearer of the name Leitha was Leitha von Königshoven (c. 1490-1560), a German poet and writer from Nuremberg. She was known for her religious poetry and her contributions to the literary circles of her time.
Moving forward in history, Leitha Masson (1808-1888) was a Scottish artist and illustrator who was celebrated for her detailed botanical illustrations and her work depicting scenes from Scottish life and culture.
Finally, Leitha Wilkinson (1859-1947) was an American philanthropist and social reformer who dedicated her life to improving the lives of underprivileged children and advocating for better educational opportunities and social welfare programs.
While the name Leitha may not be as common today as it once was, its rich history and diverse cultural roots have left an indelible mark on the annals of time, serving as a testament to the enduring legacy of names and their ability to connect us with the past.
People
Leitha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leitha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Leitha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leitha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 228 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leitha 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 1,503,309 US residents.
Is Leitha a common name?
We classify Leitha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 731 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leitha most popular?
The single biggest year for Leitha was 1916, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leitha is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Leitha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Leitha 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.