Given name
Rhetta
“a well-spoken woman”·“a well-spoken man”
Rhetta is a variant of Rheta. In Latin use, Rheta carries the interpretation “a well-spoken woman.” Rhetta is a feminine form of Rhett. One Latin interpretation is “a well-spoken man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Rhetta is a variant of Rheta. In Latin use, Rheta carries the interpretation “a well-spoken woman.” Rhetta is a feminine form of Rhett. One Latin interpretation is “a well-spoken man.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Rhetta is a feminine form of Rhett. An origin associated with Rhett is Dutch.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1895. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Rhetta is a feminine form of Rhett. 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
Rhetta through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 621
- 0 boys · 621 girls
- Most popular year
- 1941
- 18 babies
- 2025
- 8
- #11,719 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +100%
- Rising fast
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 8 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 11,719 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 439 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Rhetta’s family of names
Rhetta is a feminine form of Rhett. Rhetta has a related form in Rheta.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Rhetta, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.