Recorded 1882–2025 · United States
Gretchen was most popular in 1973, when 1,351 American babies were given the name — ranking #365 that year. In 2025 it ranked #7,425, with 33 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 53,837 people named Gretchen.
Gretchen first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1882, which makes it about 143 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 144 of the 144 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 53,837 American births named Gretchen between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 42,455 are estimated to be alive today.
33 American babies were named Gretchen in 2025, ranking #7,425 that year.
Gretchen is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 51 births a year, against 199 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -74% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Gretchen is a girl’s name — 99.9% of the 53,837 Americans given it were girls and 0.1% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 100% girls and 0% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 42,455 Americans named Gretchen are alive today — 79% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 54 years old, and half are between 43 and 65.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Gretchen on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org