Holding steady.
Popularity of Mertha since 1914
Babies named Mertha per year in U.S. Social Security records.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 33 |
| 1920s | 67 |
| 1930s | 48 |
| 1940s | 31 |
| 1950s | 11 |
| 1960s | 0 |
| 1970s | 0 |
| 1980s | 0 |
| 1990s | 0 |
| 2000s | 0 |
| 2010s | 0 |
| 2020s | 0 |
Meaning & origin
Mertha is a name that evokes early 20th-century America, first recorded in 1914 and achieving its highest popularity in 1925, when it ranked 417. It appears to be a variant of Martha, which itself has ancient roots, but Mertha never gained widespread usage. Its trajectory has been stable but low, with no significant revival in recent decades (latest year 2025 shows 2 girls, but the name has been extremely rare since the 1930s). Like many names from the 1910s and 1920s, Mertha reflects a period when short, feminized variants of traditional names were fashionable.
Mertha is likely a spelling variant of the name Martha, which derived from Aramaic meaning 'lady' or 'mistress.' It emerged in the early 20th century, peaking in the 1920s, but has since fallen out of common use.
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Mer, Mert
Sibling names for Mertha
Names that share Mertha's style, for a brother or sister.
