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Greta

German, diminutive of Margarethe
"pearl"
Linda Rosenkrantz
By Linda Rosenkrantz
Updated Mon Jul 14 2025

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.

# 855 in the US

Greta Rank in US Top 1000

# 399 on Nameberry

Greta Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Greta

20 Names Similar to Greta

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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
  • Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg
    Climate activist

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

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