Retta as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Retta

What is the meaning of the name Retta ?

The baby name Retta is a Female name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced RET-uh (IPA: /ˈrɛtə/).

Retta is English in Origin.

Retta (RET-uh) is an English short form drawn from a cluster of -etta names, most commonly Loretta and Henrietta. The -etta ending entered English through Italian and French diminutive patterns, so Retta also surfaces as a clipped form of Margaretta/Marietta and, less commonly, Aretta/Arete (from Greek aretē).

Used as an independent given name across the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the United States and Britain, it fit the era’s fondness for concise nicknames. Records show peak visibility around the 1880s–1910s, with sporadic revival today as a vintage choice. Spellings and cognates include Rhetta and Reta, with related diminutives Etta, Netta, and Greta. Meaning depends on the root: from Loretta/Laura it signifies “laurel,” from Henrietta “home ruler,” from Margaretta/Margaret “pearl,” and from Arete “virtue, excellence.”