Mitzi
A German pet name derived from Wilhelmina or Maria, meaning "little mighty one".
Name Census estimates that about 9,707 living Americans carry the first name Mitzi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mitzi today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mitzi births was 1961 (468 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mitzi. 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
9.7K
~ 1 in 35,310 Americans
Peak year
1961
468 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,247
Tracked since 1906
Popularity
Mitzi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mitzi from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 3,900 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
Mitzi 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 Mitzi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mitzis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 39 states and territories. Texas, California, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Mitzi, while Wyoming, Idaho, Hawaii recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 249 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mitzi
The name Mitzi is a German diminutive form of the name Maria. The name Maria itself is derived from the ancient Hebrew name Miryam, which is believed to have originated from the Egyptian word "mer" meaning "beloved" or "desired." The name Mitzi gained popularity in the 19th century, particularly in German-speaking regions of Europe.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Mitzi can be found in the writings of German author and playwright Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who mentioned a character named Mitzi in his work "Die Leiden des jungen Werthers" (The Sorrows of Young Werther), published in 1774. This literary reference helped to popularize the name among German-speaking communities.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the name Mitzi became particularly popular in Austria and Germany. One notable bearer of this name was Mitzi Hajos (1889-1976), an Austrian operetta singer and actress who achieved fame in the early 20th century for her performances in operettas and films.
Another famous Mitzi from this time period was Mitzi Alphen (1888-1957), a Dutch actress and singer who performed in various cabaret shows and musical productions in the Netherlands and Germany during the early 20th century.
In the United States, the name Mitzi gained some popularity in the mid-20th century. One of the most famous American bearers of this name was Mitzi Gaynor (born 1931), an actress, singer, and dancer who starred in several successful musical films, including "South Pacific" (1958) and "Les Girls" (1957).
Another notable Mitzi from the 20th century was Mitzi Green (1920-1969), an American child actress who appeared in numerous films and stage productions in the 1930s and 1940s, including the Broadway musical "Babes in Arms" (1937).
While the name Mitzi has become less common in recent years, it remains a charming and distinctive name with a rich history, particularly in German-speaking regions and within the entertainment industry.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Mitzi
People
Mitzi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mitzi 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
Mitzi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mitzi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9,707 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mitzi 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 35,310 US residents.
Is Mitzi a common name?
We classify Mitzi as "Rare". It ranks above 97.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 13,176 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mitzi most popular?
The single biggest year for Mitzi was 1961, when 468 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mitzi is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Mitzi a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mitzi 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.