Althea
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "wholesome" or "with healing power".
Name Census estimates that about 8,947 living Americans carry the first name Althea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Althea today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Althea births was 1956 (389 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Althea. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Althea with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
8.9K
~ 1 in 38,309 Americans
Peak year
1956
389 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
1924 SSA rank
#1,396
Tracked since 1880
Census
Althea in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 10,949 people with the first name Althea, which placed it at #2,327 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#2,327
National first-name rank
People counted
11K
10,949 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
47.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Althea
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Althea is Black at 47.8%. The next largest groups are White (38.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Althea described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Althea at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American47.8% · 5,234
- White38.9% · 4,257
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.4% · 587
- Two or more races4.1% · 445
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 298
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 128
Gender
Gender distribution for Althea
Out of the 17,812 babies given the name Althea since 1880, 100.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Althea as a male name
- Ranked #4,366 in 1924
- 5 male births in 1924
- Peak: 1924 (5 births)
Althea as a female name
- Ranked #1,396 in 2024
- 160 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1956 (389 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Althea appears almost entirely female. Of the 10,948 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Althea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Althea from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 3,015 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Althea by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Althea during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Altheas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 43 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Althea, while West Virginia, Vermont, Utah recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 258 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Althea
The given name Althea has its origins in ancient Greek mythology and language. It is derived from the Greek word "althos," which means "to heal" or "healing." This suggests that the name was likely associated with concepts of health, recovery, and well-being in its earliest usage.
The name Althea appears in various ancient Greek texts and stories. In Greek mythology, Althea was the name of the mother of Meleager, a hero from the Calydonian boar hunt. According to the myth, Althea's life was tied to a wooden brand, and when it was consumed by fire, she died. This story highlights the connection between the name and the themes of healing and life.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Althea can be found in the works of the ancient Greek poet Pindar, who lived in the 5th century BCE. He mentioned the name in his Odes, which were composed to celebrate athletic victories at the ancient Greek games.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Althea. One example is Althea Scrivener (1551-1625), an English mystic and writer known for her religious works and prophecies. Another is Althea Talbot (1783-1853), an English botanist and plant illustrator who made significant contributions to the field of botany.
In the realm of literature, Althea is the name of a character in the play "The Fair Penitent" by Nicholas Rowe (1674-1718), a renowned English dramatist and poet. The play, first performed in 1703, explores themes of love, betrayal, and redemption.
Moving forward in time, Althea Gibson (1927-2003) was an American tennis player who broke racial barriers in the sport. She was the first Black athlete to win a Grand Slam title, achieving this feat at the 1956 French Championships and the 1957 and 1958 Wimbledon Championships.
Another prominent figure with the name Althea is Althea McNish (1924-2016), a British textile designer and artist who played a significant role in the revival of hand-weaving and textile arts in the mid-20th century.
While the name Althea has ancient roots and connections to Greek mythology, it has continued to be used throughout history, carried by individuals from various fields and backgrounds, each contributing to its rich tapestry of meaning and significance.
People
Althea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Althea as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Althea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Althea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8,947 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Althea going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 38,309 US residents.
Is Althea a common name?
We classify Althea as "Rare". It ranks above 97.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 17,812 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Althea most popular?
The single biggest year for Althea was 1956, when 389 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Althea is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Althea in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 10,949 people with the name Althea, or 3.63 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,327 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Althea in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Althea?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Althea appears almost entirely female. Of the 10,948 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Althea?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Althea is Black at 47.8%. The next largest groups are White (38.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Althea most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Althea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.8% (5,234 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Althea in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Althea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Althea in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Althea still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Althea in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Althea can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Althea?
Find out how many people have the name Althea on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.