Greta

German, diminutive of Margarethe

"pearl"

Greta Origin and Meaning

The name Greta is a girl's name of German origin meaning "pearl".

Greta is an Old World name long tied to the iconic Garbo, but now synonymous with environmental activism.

In the early 2000s, Greta was showing signs of a comeback, along with other Old Hollywood glamour names. It was even chosen by David Caruso and by Phoebe Cates and Kevin Kline for their daughters. Then in 2018, Swedish teen Greta Thunberg became very famous, very fast, for her anti-climate-change protests. Since then, it seems that the name is too tied to one figure for most parents' tastes... which is a shame.

Greta is currently popular in Germany, Hungary, and especially Italy. Dr. Greta Guttman was a character on Mad Men, Greta Van Susteren is a familiar face on TV, and Greta Gerwig is an up-and-coming young actress and director.

Greta returned to the Top 1000 in 1999, and rose as high as the 500s, before swiftly plummeting in Thunberg's early years of public activism. The name's highest point ever was at Number 318 in 1932, at the peak of Garbo's career, the year she starred in Grand Hotel and one year after she was Oscar-nominated for Anna Christie.

Greta should be a sweet spot name — sophisticated with a touch of retro glamour — and a hero name, and we hope it will regain some of its former glory. On the other hand, variant Gretel is still out strewing crumbs in the forest with brother Hansel.

Greta Rank in US Top 1000

# 933 in the US

Greta Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 329 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Greta

• 933 US 2023
• 329 Nameberry 2025
• 513 Future 2028
• 994 England 2021
• 31 Germany 2017
• 19 Italy 2023
• 91 Spain 2019
• 88 Sweden 2018
• 163 Switzerland 2019
• 50 Austria 2019

20 Names Similar to Greta

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Greta.

• Ida
• Nell
• Margo
• Nellie
• Alma
• Maude
• Ramona
• Effie
• Philippa
• Bea
• Ingrid
• Lottie
• Marjorie
• Ruth
• Gwladys
• Frances
• Edie
• Etta
• Edweena
• Pippa

Famous People Named Greta

• Greta Morgan Salpeter American pianist and singer of The Hush Sound and Gold Motel
• Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson) Swedish actress
• Greta Celeste Gerwig American actress and director
• Greta Van Susteren American TV journalist and commentator
• Greta Scacchi Italian,Australian actress
• Greta Gynt (born Margrethe Woxholt) Norwegian singer, dancer and actress
• Greta Andersen Danish Olympic swimmer
• Margarethe "Greta" Schröder German actress
• Gréta Arn Hungarian tennis player
• Greta Caruso daughter of actor David Caruso
• Greta Burrell daughter of actor Ty Burrell
• Greta Lilia Bean (b. 2018) daughter of actors Lyndsy Fonseca and Noah Bean

The name Greta in Pop Culture

• Georgiana Evelina "Greta" O'Donnell main character in movie "According to Greta"
• Great Aunt Greta character in the Horrid Henry series
• Greta character in movie "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2"
• Greta human character in video game "Spyro the Dragon"
• Greta Grimly character on TV's "Fargo"
• "Greta " song by Stevie Nicks
• Greta Van Fleet American rock band

International Variations of the name Greta

• Gryta Slavic
• Gretta German
• Grietje Dutch
• Gretl Eastern European
• Grette German
• Grethe Scandinavian
• Ghita Italian