Martha

Meaning: Lady; mistress
Origin: From Aramaic (via Greek and Latin)

Nicknames: Marty, Mattie, Patsy, Matty

Girl's name · #713 in the US (2025) · Vintage

Popularity over time

Martha is an heirloom: its strongest era came around 1882, when it ranked #14. It has thinned since but never left the records — about 552,000 girls since 1880, ranked #713 today. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Across the states

See where Martha is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 31 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Martha ranks in other countries and regions.

#85 in N. Ireland (2025) · #165 in England & Wales (2025) · #194 in Mexico (2024) · #195 in Austria (2025) · #225 in Norway (2025) · #250 in Belgium (2025) · #296 in Scotland (2025) · #373 in Ireland (2025) · #436 in Sweden (2025) · #572 in Ecuador (2025) · #644 in Switzerland (2025) · #688 in Netherlands (2025) and 2 more.

Famous Marthas

Martha Washington — First Lady of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Martha Argerich — Argentine pianist (born 1941)
Martha Graham — American dancer and choreographer (1894–1991)
Martha Stewart — American businesswoman, writer, TV personality (born 1941)
Martha Nussbaum — American philosopher (born 1947)

In stories & tradition

Martha — Gospel of Luke (Bible)
Martha Jones — Torchwood (TV series)
Martha Wayne — Detective Comics (comics)

What Marthas become

Among 2,041 notable people named Martha:

Artists & writers appear 1.58× more often than among typical names — e.g. Martha Stewart, American businesswoman, writer, TV personality (born 1941).

Spellings & nicknames

About 240 girls a year are given Mattie as their full name.

Similar names: Marta · Kate · Marie · Greta · Helen · Marjorie

Browse more girl names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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