Lettie

LEHT-ee
English, diminutive of Letitia, Latin
"joy, gladness"

Lettie Origin and Meaning

The name Lettie is a girl's name of English origin meaning "joy, gladness".

Lettie, also spelled Letty, is a nickname name not heard in over a century, giving it the patina of a treasured antique. Lettie's style currency is rising with the trend for old-fashioned, down-to-earth nickname, such as Lottie, Hettie, Hattie, Josie, and Maisie.

One of Joan Crawford's early hit roles was in 1932 as the eponymous heroine of the film Letty Lynton, in which she wore a dress--dubbed the Letty Lynton dress--that became a national fad. More recently, the name appeared on characters in the novel and film Howl's Moving Castle and in the musical, The Greatest Showman.

Originally used as a short form for Letitia (or Lettice), if that doesn't appeal and you don't want to use Lettie on the birth certificate, other names with the nickname include Loretta, Violette, Scarlett, Elisabeth, Colette, Juliette, Violetta, Arlette, and potentially Charlotte or Elliot/Elliette.

A rising number of girls have been given the name in recent years, with more than 200 baby Letties registered in the US in 2023, while nearly 150 were called Letty. While both forms are currently outside the Top 1000, when you consider them together, Lettie feels as popular as the similar Lottie and Lacey. In the UK, Lettie is also currently just outside the Top 1000.

# 912 in the US

Lettie Rank in US Top 1000

# 671 on Nameberry

Lettie Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Lettie

20 Names Similar to Lettie

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

Famous People Named Lettie

  • Lettie
    English singer,songwriter
  • Lettie Viljoen
    pen name of Ingrid Winterbach, South African writer
  • Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans
    American businesswoman, first woman on the Coca,Cola board of directors
  • Lettie Hamlett Rogers
    American novelist
  • Lettie Teague
    American food writer and journalist

The name Lettie in Pop Culture

  • Lettie Hatter
    character in the book and film Howl's Moving Castle'.
  • Lettie Mae Thornton
    character on TV's True Blood
  • Lettie Hempstock
    character in Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane
  • Leticia "Lettie" Bostic
    character on TV's "A Different World"

The name Lettie in Nameberry Blog Posts