Given name & surname
Retta
“he has triumphed”
Retta is used as a given name and a surname. One African interpretation is “he has triumphed.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One African interpretation is “he has triumphed.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is African.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Retta connects to the Rhett name family through Rheta. The history of Rhett gives this family its wider story. Rhett Butler in Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind brought the surname Rhett into wider use as a first name. The surname connects with Dutch de Raedt and an older word for “advice.”
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Retta through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,399
- 0 boys · 3,399 girls
- Most popular year
- 1922
- 60 babies
- 2025
- 7
- #12,903 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −4%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 7 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 12,903 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,354 as a first name in 2020; 373 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Retta’s family of names
Retta has a related form in Reta. Retta has a related form in Rheta. Retta has a related form in Retah.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Retta
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Retta, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Zula
“one who is brilliant; from the town of Zula”
>99% girls
Ola
“one who is precious” · “giver of life: well-being”
>99% girls
Retha
>99% girls
Esta
“woman from the East”
>99% girls
Zetta
“resembling the rose”
>99% girls
Zita
“patron of housewives and servants” · “little rose”
>99% girls
Leta
“one who is glad; joyful; loved by all”
>99% girls
Neta
Neta is used as a given name and a surname. Neta is connected with Agneta.
>99% girls