girl's name
Marsha
MAR-shuh
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 104,669
Scotland
#471
1979 births
Marsha is a phonetic respelling of Marcia, and the name underneath is dedicated to Mars — the same god who gives his name to March, when the Roman year and the campaigning season both began.
- Marsha is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1952, when 5,590 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 236,855 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1908.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Marsha over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 6 |
| 1910s | 125 |
| 1920s | 304 |
| 1930s | 2,515 |
| 1940s | 27,475 |
| 1950s | 41,636 |
| 1960s | 16,699 |
| 1970s | 10,456 |
| 1980s | 3,533 |
| 1990s | 1,042 |
| 2000s | 342 |
| 2010s | 218 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 91 |
What Marsha means
Marsha means dedicated to Mars, carried from Marcia. The Roman family name descends from the war god, so the sense is dedication rather than any personal quality.
Where Marsha comes from
Marsha respells Marcia phonetically, dropping the Latin c-before-i spelling that English pronounces as sh. Marcia is the feminine of the Roman Marcius, from Mars — god of war and also of agriculture, which is less contradictory than it sounds in a society where both were seasonal work for men of fighting age. March carries his name because the Roman year began there. Marcus, Mark, Marco and Marcella all descend from the same god-name.
Marsha in use
Marsha peaked in the United States in 1952, when 5,590 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track, at 7529th in the United States on 14 births, across 104,669 lifetime births. Marcia, written up separately, holds 134,584 lifetime births, so the original outsold the respelling by about 29 percent.
How popular is Marsha?
In 2025, Marsha was given to 14 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.
Where Marsha is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Marsha
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Marsha also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Marsha over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Marsha
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Marsha in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Dutch
- Marcia
Sibling names for Marsha
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Marsha — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Marsha
What does the name Marsha mean?
Dedicated to Mars, carried from Marcia.
Is it Marsha or Marcia?
Marcia is the Latin spelling; Marsha is the phonetic respelling. Marcia is the larger of the two in our data.
Is March named after the same god?
Yes — the Roman year began in March, when campaigning resumed.
How popular is Marsha?
7529th in the United States, and our data marks it stable.
Is Marsha a girl's or a boy's name?
Marsha is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Marsha?
Marsha has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Marsha?
Marsha is usually shortened to Marsh.
Is Marsha a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Marsha currently ranks #7,529 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.