Mirta
A feminine name of Latin origin symbolizing the aromatic herb myrtle.
Name Census estimates that about 724 living Americans carry the first name Mirta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mirta today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mirta births was 1963 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mirta. 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.
People living today
724
~ 1 in 473,418 Americans
Peak year
1963
30 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2009 SSA rank
#19,280
Tracked since 1931
Census
Mirta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,941 people with the first name Mirta, which placed it at #3,946 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
#3,946
National first-name rank
People counted
4.9K
4,941 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
96.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mirta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mirta is Hispanic at 96.2%. The next largest groups are White (2.8%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Mirta 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 Mirta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino96.2% · 4,753
- White2.8% · 136
- Black or African American0.9% · 43
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 3
- Two or more races0.0% · 1
Popularity
Mirta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mirta from the 1930s through to the 2000s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 232 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mirta 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 Mirta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mirtas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, New York, California recorded the most babies named Mirta, while Illinois, California, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 80 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mirta
The given name Mirta is believed to have its origins in the Spanish language. It is a variant of the name Marta, which is derived from the Aramaic name Martha, meaning "lady" or "mistress of the house." The name Marta was popularized by the New Testament character Martha, the sister of Mary and Lazarus.
The earliest recorded use of the name Mirta can be traced back to the Middle Ages in Spain and other Spanish-speaking regions. It was a diminutive form of Marta, used as a term of endearment or as a pet name. Over time, Mirta became an independent name in its own right.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Mirta was Mirta Acuña de Espinosa, a Chilean writer and journalist who lived from 1884 to 1935. She was known for her contributions to the feminist movement and her advocacy for women's rights in Chile.
Another notable figure with the name Mirta was Mirta Muñiz, an Argentine singer and actress who was active in the mid-20th century. She was best known for her performances in tango and folklore music, and her work in various Argentine films and television shows.
In the field of literature, Mirta Rosenberg was an influential Uruguayan writer and literary critic. Born in 1932, she was renowned for her contributions to Latin American literature and her analysis of works by prominent authors from the region.
Mirta Milá was a Cuban ballerina and choreographer who lived from 1926 to 2019. She was a pioneering figure in the world of ballet and helped establish the National Ballet of Cuba, where she served as artistic director for many years.
Mirta Gómez was a Mexican artist and painter who gained recognition for her vibrant and expressive works depicting everyday life and the landscapes of Mexico. She was born in 1935 and her paintings are part of numerous collections around the world.
While the name Mirta has its roots in Spanish-speaking cultures, it has also gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly in Latin America and some European countries. However, its historical origins and earliest recorded uses can be traced back to Spain and the Spanish language.
People
Mirta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mirta 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
Mirta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mirta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 724 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mirta 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 473,418 US residents.
Is Mirta a common name?
We classify Mirta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 860 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mirta most popular?
The single biggest year for Mirta was 1963, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mirta is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mirta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,941 people with the name Mirta, or 1.64 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,946 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 Mirta 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 Mirta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mirta appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,942 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Mirta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mirta is Hispanic at 96.2%. The next largest groups are White (2.8%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Mirta most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Mirta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.2% (4,753 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 Mirta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mirta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mirta 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 Mirta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mirta 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 Mirta 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 are named Mirta?
Find out how many Americans are named Mirta on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.