Girls' name · peaked in 1880
Martha name popularity since 1925
393,416 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Martha. Half of them were born in 1948 or earlier, so the typical Martha is about 78 years old in 2026. Martha peaked in 1880 as the #16 name for girls, and it ranked #713 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 393,416
- Named Martha, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1880
- #16 for girls that year
- In 2025
- #713
- for girls in 2025 (393 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.6% girls
- 391,882 girls · 1,534 boys
- Most popular in
- Alabama
- 2.59× its national share
Peak year is the year Martha made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Martha births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1947. Measured as a share of all babies, Martha peaked earlier, in 1880.
- Steepest fall: Between 1964 and 1969, Martha's share of baby girls fell by 39%, from 1 in 426 to 1 in 695.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Martha's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Martha.
Decade by decade
Babies named Martha in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 41,513 | 191 | – |
| 1930s | 77,697 | 377 | #24 |
| 1940s | 95,384 | 295 | #30 |
| 1950s | 83,190 | 205 | #53 |
| 1960s | 41,040 | 149 | #99 |
| 1970s | 17,926 | 110 | #149 |
| 1980s | 13,039 | 148 | #211 |
| 1990s | 9,750 | 59 | #299 |
| 2000s | 6,179 | 0 | #503 |
| 2010s | 3,743 | 0 | #772 |
| 2020–25 | 2,421 | 0 | #713 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
38.1% of babies named Martha from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Martha is most popular
The index compares Martha's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Martha.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 2.59× | 18,088 |
| Mississippi | 2.58× | 12,322 |
| Arkansas | 2.19× | 8,862 |
| South Carolina | 2.14× | 11,814 |
| Tennessee | 2.12× | 17,629 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Martha's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Martha.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Martha (1880).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data