How Many People Are Named Thelma?
people named Thelma are alive in the United States today (estimate)
About 1 in 8,424 people in the US has this name
Based on 226,602 babies named Thelma in Social Security records from 1880 to 2025, and the share of each birth year still alive in 2025.
Popularity Rank
π Rare
Peak Year
7,871 births
Trend
Stable (last 10 years)
π Name Origin & Meaning
Meaning:
Meaning unknown. It was a rare name when British author Marie Corelli used it for the Norwegian heroine of her novel 'Thelma' (1887). The name became popular around the end of the 19th century after the novel was published. It is sometimes claimed to derive from Greek θΡλημα (thelema) meaning "will", though this seems unlikely.
Source of the meaning, origin, pronunciation and related names: Behind the Name.
Related & Similar Names
β§ Gender Distribution
Almost all of the babies given the name Thelma (99.7%) were girls.
π₯ Age Distribution
The average person named Thelma alive today is about 74 years old, and 85% are 60 or older. Half of them were between 66 and 85 in 2025.
π Popularity Over Time
Thelma first appears in the records in 1880 and was given most often in 1921, to 7,871 babies. In 2025, 29 babies got the name.
Babies given the name each year, 1880 to 2025
π Rank History
Thelma never made the top 10 girls' names. Its best rank was #25, in 1910, and it was in the top 100 for 42 years, 1898 to 1939. In 2025 it ranked #4,744.
| Girls | |
|---|---|
| Rank in 2025 | #4,744 |
| Best rank | #25 (1910) |
| Years in the top 100 | 42 (1898 to 1939) |
| Rank in its biggest decade | #34 in the 1920s |
π State-Wise Distribution
People named Thelma alive today, by the state where they were born (estimate; state records start in 1910).
More people named Thelma were born in Texas than in any other state: about 3,841 of those alive today. Compared with the national rate in the same years, Thelma was given 1.9 times as often in Virginia, 1.8 times in Kentucky and 1.8 times in West Virginia.
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