Grecia vs Gretchen
American parents have registered 53,837 Gretchens since 1880, against 6,318 Grecias. But in 2025 it was Grecia that was commoner, 204 babies to 33.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Grecia Gretchen
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 144 years in which either name was published, Gretchen for 134 years and Grecia for 10 years. The lead changed hands 3 times.
Side by side
| Grecia | Gretchen | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 6,318 | 53,837 |
| Most in one year | 216 | 1,351 |
| Babies in 2025 | 204 | 33 |
| Estimated living today | 6,200 | 42,000 |
| Median age today | 18 | 52 |
| Peak year | 2006 | 1973 |
| Best rank | 1,137th girls | 191st girls |
| Rank in 2025 | 1,137th | 4,265th |
| First recorded | 1971 | 1882 |
| Girls / boys | 6,318 / 0 | 53,799 / 38 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Gretchens alive today are over 52; half the Grecias are over 18. That is 34 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Grecia Arizona (6.6×), Texas (4.8×), California (4.1×)
- Gretchen Minnesota (3.0×), Iowa (2.1×), Wisconsin (2.0×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Grecia and Gretchen.