Martha
Aramaic in origin, from marta, meaning lady or mistress of the house. It belongs in the New Testament to the sister of Lazarus and Mary of Bethany.
Martha in 2025
Martha was given to 393 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 1,397th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 8,436 babies born.
The history of Martha
Martha reached its highest point in 1947, when 10,673 babies were given the name, ranking 60th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 30th, in 1882.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 553,732 babies have been named Martha. Half of them were born before 1939, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Silent Generation.
Martha by decade
| Decade | Babies named Martha | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 13,958 | 30 |
| 1890s | 19,474 | 33 |
| 1900s | 21,816 | 38 |
| 1910s | 59,670 | 39 |
| 1920s | 87,102 | 43 |
| 1930s | 78,074 | 48 |
| 1940s | 95,679 | 48 |
| 1950s | 83,395 | 65 |
| 1960s | 41,189 | 153 |
| 1970s | 18,036 | 279 |
| 1980s | 13,187 | 340 |
| 1990s | 9,809 | 456 |
| 2000s | 6,179 | 717 |
| 2010s | 3,743 | 1,286 |
| 2020s | 2,421 | 1,298 |
Where Martha is heading
Martha has risen 7% over the past decade, from 367 babies in 2015 to 393 in 2025.
That is less than 5% of its 1947 peak — Martha is now a rare name in the United States.
Names like Martha
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Martha.