Mirtha
A feminine name of Spanish origin meaning "beloved".
Name Census estimates that about 489 living Americans carry the first name Mirtha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mirtha today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mirtha births was 1972 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mirtha. 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
489
~ 1 in 700,929 Americans
Peak year
1972
21 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2008 SSA rank
#19,535
Tracked since 1948
Popularity
Mirtha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mirtha from the 1940s through to the 2000s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 129 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Mirtha remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mirtha 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 Mirtha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mirthas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Mirtha, while Florida, New York, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mirtha
The name Mirtha is a feminine name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word "myrthos," meaning "myrtle." The myrtle plant was highly revered in ancient Greek culture, often associated with the goddesses Aphrodite and Venus, symbolizing beauty, love, and fertility.
In Greek mythology, the myrtle plant played a significant role in various stories and legends. For instance, it was said that Aphrodite was born from the sea foam near the island of Cythera, and the myrtle plant sprang up from the earth to celebrate her birth.
The earliest recorded use of the name Mirtha dates back to the Byzantine era, around the 6th century AD. During this time, the name was particularly popular among Greek families living in the Eastern Roman Empire, which encompassed parts of modern-day Greece, Turkey, and the Middle East.
One of the earliest historical figures known to bear the name Mirtha was a Byzantine noblewoman who lived in the 9th century AD. She was the wife of Emperor Basil I, the founder of the Macedonian dynasty, and played a significant role in the court life of Constantinople.
Another notable Mirtha in history was Mirtha of Milan, an Italian noblewoman who lived in the 12th century. She was a prominent figure in the city of Milan and was known for her charitable works and patronage of the arts.
In the 14th century, Mirtha Barucci was a renowned Italian poet and writer from Florence. She was a member of the prestigious literary circle known as the "Florentine Platonists" and wrote several works that explored themes of love, beauty, and spirituality.
During the Renaissance period, the name Mirtha gained popularity among Italian aristocratic families. One notable figure was Mirtha Gonzaga, a 16th-century Italian noblewoman who was the wife of Alfonso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her involvement in the cultural life of Ferrara.
In more recent times, Mirtha Legrand, an Argentine actress, and television host born in 1927, has been one of the most famous bearers of the name. She is widely recognized for her long-running TV show "Almorzando con Mirtha Legrand," which has been on the air since 1968, making her a cultural icon in Argentina and Latin America.
People
Mirtha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mirtha 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
Mirtha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mirtha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 489 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mirtha 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 700,929 US residents.
Is Mirtha a common name?
We classify Mirtha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 539 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mirtha most popular?
The single biggest year for Mirtha was 1972, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mirtha is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Mirtha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mirtha 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.