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 that until recently, had rarely been heard since the 1950s. Now, this treasured antique is on the rise, fitting right in 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 parents having been choosing the name since 2015, and, as of 2024, it re-entered the US Top 1000 for the first time in nearly 80 years. The Lettie spelling was given to 282 babies, while Letty was chosen for 130, but if you combine the two spellings, the name would rank around the #687 mark, alongside Laney, Marigold, and Kendra.

Lettie Rank in US Top 1000

# 936 in the US

Lettie Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 462 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Lettie

• 936 US 2024
• 462 Nameberry 2025
• 131 Unique 2023

20 Names Similar to Lettie

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

• Essie
• Joni
• Ettie
• Hettie
• Della
• Tillie
• Elouise
• Luella
• Talullah
• Darby
• Ruthie
• Marnie
• Lula
• Lou
• Tilly
• Lennie
• Pia
• Junie
• Imogene
• Sinclair

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"