Etta

Attested across 11 languages in the etymology graph.

Names that people choosing a name often weigh against Etta, most often first. They share a style rather than an origin.

• Lettie
• Greta
• Della
• Dottie
• Cora
• Ada
• Ida
• Dot
• Nettie
• Dorothy
• Betty
• Cleo

From the names suggested together in public name-advice forums, in English. A list of what people consider, not a measure of how common any name is.

Etta is also recorded as 3 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Brazil, Colombia, Italy

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian

  Also written Ettã, Èttà

• French given name3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, Cameroon, Canada

  Also written Étta

• Greek given name2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Greece, United States

  Also written Εττα

53 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Etta is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• Pet form abstracted from HENRIETTA, etc.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In English, A short form of Henrietta or of other female given names ending in -etta.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• English and Scottish: short form of the various names ending in this element (originally an Italian feminine diminutive suffix), now sometimes used as an independent given name. In Gaelic Scotland it is used as a pet form of MAIREAD (Anglicized as Mar(i)etta ).

  as a word

• In Swedish, one; the digit or figure "1".

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In crp-rsn, this

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

• Etta Palmb. 1743NLDutch feminist and spy
• Clarice Vanceb. 1870USnot in their usual nameAmerican vaudeville personality, recording artist, singer
• Etta Placeb. 1878USAmerican companion of the outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
• Etta McDanielb. 1890USAmerican actress (1890-1946)
• Etta Leeb. 1906USAmerican silent film actress (1906-1956)
• Etta Bakerb. 1913USAmerican Piedmont blues guitarist and singer
• Etta Jonesb. 1928USAmerican jazz singer (1928–2001)
• Etta Cameronb. 1939DKBahamian singer (1939–2010)
• Etta Scollob. 1958ITItalian singer
• Etta Ngb. 1999HKJackie Chan's daughter

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

A formal English salutation is built on the surname, so it needs a full name — on its own, a first name only supports the informal form.

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

What does the name Etta mean, and where does it come from?

Short form of the various names such as Rosetta and Henrietta ending in this element, originally an Italian feminine diminutive suffix. Recorded by A concise dictionary of first names.

What are other forms of the name Etta?

In the etymology graph, Hattie, Henrietta and Hallie are forms of the same name in other languages.

In which country does Etta have the most bearers?

In the United States, the national register counted about 10 thousand people named Etta, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled etta.

Is Etta a male or female name?

Etta is a female name. National registers that list it by sex list it as female: United States (Census Bureau, 2020), Finland (DVV) and Netherlands (Meertens NVB).

How common is the name Etta?

In the United States, the national register counted 10,485 people named Etta in 2020, about 1 in 32 thousand residents.

How common is Etta compared with other names?

In Jamaica, Etta is the 249th most common given name of 21,568 given names recorded there.