Martha

What Martha means

Means “mistress”

From Latin Martha, from Ancient Greek Μάρθα (Mártha), from Aramaic מָרְתָא (mārtā, “mistress”), feminine of מרא (mārā).

Source: Wiktionary, “Martha” (revision 93672380), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Martha?

US: Steady: #771 in 2015, #712 now. England & Wales: Falling: down from #67 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1880, when 1,040 girls got the name (#16 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 4,090 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 839 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,491 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in PA (1.11 per 1,000 girls), KY (0.75 per 1,000 girls), WI (0.69 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Martha is #712 in the US and #164 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Martha were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

If you like Martha

Girls

• Mary#125Same root as Miriam, possibly meaning “bitter”^*
• Deborah#862“bee”^*
• Priscilla#544“former, ancient, old-fashioned”^*
• Rebecca#349“enchantingly beautiful, captivating, snare”^*
• Maria#87Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1964, with 10,148 babies; 2,887 in 2025
• Rachel#250“ewe”^*

For a brother

• Thomas#34“twin”^*
• Peter#187“stone, rock”^*
• Philip#527“fond of horses”^*
• Mark#244Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1960, with 58,727 babies; 1,416 in 2025
• Stephen#383“crown, wreath”^*
• Paul#262“small”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Bible, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Martha’s. Rank is US 2025.