Marthella
A feminine Latin name meaning "the little mistress" or "lady of the household".
Name Census estimates that about 20 living Americans carry the first name Marthella. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marthella today is around 81 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marthella births was 1930 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marthella. 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 Marthella is about 81 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Marthellas were born before 1955.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Marthella. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
20
~ 1 in 17,137,717 Americans
Peak year
1930
9 babies that year
Average age
81
years old
1951 SSA rank
#5,934
Tracked since 1916
Popularity
Marthella: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marthella from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 40 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
Marthella 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 Marthella 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 Marthella
The name Marthella has its origins in the Latin language and is a feminine form of the name Martellus. The name Martellus is derived from the Latin word "martellus," meaning "little hammer." This connection to the hammer likely stems from an association with the Roman god Mars, the god of war, who was often depicted with a hammer as one of his symbols.
In the early days of Christianity, the name Marthella was occasionally used as a feminine form of the name Martinus, which was derived from the name of the Roman god Mars. This name was borne by several early Christian saints and martyrs, including Saint Martha, who was a close friend and follower of Jesus Christ.
The earliest recorded use of the name Marthella dates back to the 12th century, when it was found in various Latin documents and records from medieval Europe. During this time, the name was likely used as a diminutive or variant of the more common names Martha or Martina.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who have borne the name Marthella. One of the earliest was Marthella of Spoleto (born c. 1165), an Italian noblewoman and abbess of the Benedictine convent of San Paolo in Spoleto. Another was Marthella de Somerton (c. 1230-1300), an English landowner and heiress from Somerset.
In the 16th century, Marthella Aimerich (1502-1583) was a Spanish Benedictine nun and abbess of the Convent of Santa Maria de Valldonzella in Barcelona. She is known for her religious writings and her efforts to reform the convent's practices.
The name Marthella also appears in literary works, such as the 17th-century play "The Tragedy of Mariam, the Fair Queen of Jewry" by Elizabeth Cary, in which one of the characters is named Marthella.
Another notable figure with the name Marthella was Marthella Akita (1810-1891), a Hawaiian chieftess and landowner who played a significant role in the history of the Hawaiian Islands during the 19th century.
While the name Marthella is not as common today as it once was, it remains a unique and intriguing name with a rich historical background rooted in Latin origins and connections to early Christianity and medieval Europe.
People
Marthella + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marthella as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Marthella: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marthella?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 20 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marthella 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 17,137,717 US residents.
Is Marthella a common name?
We classify Marthella as "Very Rare". It ranks above 39.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 116 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marthella most popular?
The single biggest year for Marthella was 1930, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marthella is about 81 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 Marthella in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marthella a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marthella 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 Marthella still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marthella 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 Marthella 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 Marthella?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.