Humanverse

Leta vs Letti

American parents have registered 11,944 Letas since 1880, against 599 Lettis. But in 2025 it was Letti that was commoner, 36 babies to 10.

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Births per year: Leta against Letti, 1880 to 2025 0 60 120 180 240 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Leta Letti

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 146 years in which either name was published, Leta for 133 years and Letti for 13 years. The lead changed hands 3 times.

Side by side

  Leta Letti
Total US births 11,944599
Most in one year 23358
Babies in 2025 1036
Estimated living today 4,200600
Median age today 686
Peak year 19182021
Best rank 435th girls2,892nd girls
Rank in 2025 9,457th3,975th
First recorded 18801960
Girls / boys 11,944 / 0599 / 0

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 Letas alive today are over 68; half the Lettis are over 6. That is 62 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

Compare something else

Related comparisons

Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Leta and Letti.