Etta
Torn between Etta and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
nickname-style diminutive suffix name, short for names like Henrietta or Loretta
The story
Etta is the tail end of Henrietta, home ruler, snipped off and worn alone, and Victorian America liked it best that way: the name's strongest showing came in the 1890s, the very first decade of the records, followed by a long, patient fade across the twentieth century. Its immortality came from a woman who wore the name backwards: Jamesetta Hawkins flipped her first name to become Etta James, whose 1960 recording of At Last remains one of the most beloved songs in American music, the sound of a thousand first dances. Lately the old name has stirred awake: Etta has been creeping back up the chart since the 2010s, carried by the same fondness for compact vintage gems that revived Ada and Hazel. Its story reads like one of her ballads, a strong start, a quiet middle, and a swelling return.
The formal names behind Etta
Etta is an established short form of this name.
Henrietta · Germanic origin · ruler of the home (feminine of Henry); famously borne by Henrietta Leavitt, astronomer whose study of variable stars gave astronomers a way to measure cosmic distances
How popular is Etta around the world?
In the United States, 1,651 babies were named Etta between 2020 and 2025. In England and Wales, 338 girls named Etta were born in 2025, the 147th most common name among girls that year.
Etta is on the official records of the United States, England and Wales, South Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland and Canada.
United States
1 in 13,000
In the United States, 1,651 babies were named Etta between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Etta peaked in the 1890s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
England and Wales
1 in 1,700
In England and Wales, 338 girls named Etta were born in 2025, the 147th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
South Australia
1 in 3,1002017
In South Australia, 6 girls were registered as Etta in 2017.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
New Zealand
1 in 5,200
In New Zealand, 11 girls named Etta were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Scotland
1 in 9,200
In Scotland, 5 girls named Etta were registered in 2024, the 541st most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Ireland
1 in 11,000
In Ireland, 5 girls named Etta were born in 2025, the 608th most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Canada
1 in 20,000
In Canada, 18 girls named Etta were born in 2024, ranked 1,349th among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Austria
last on record 2002
Etta is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Montevideo City
last on record 1953
Etta is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Etta
People given the name Etta in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1940 to 2019. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Etta deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Etta truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Etta fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Etta fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Etta to your family’s tree →