Arthelia
A feminine name, possibly derived from Greek words meaning "bear" and "healing".
Name Census estimates that about 15 living Americans carry the first name Arthelia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Arthelia today is around 78 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arthelia births was 1918 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arthelia. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Arthelia is about 78 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Arthelias were born before 1958.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Arthelia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
15
~ 1 in 22,850,289 Americans
Peak year
1918
11 babies that year
Average age
78
years old
1961 SSA rank
#6,631
Tracked since 1896
Popularity
Arthelia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arthelia from the 1890s through to the 1960s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 31 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Arthelia 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 Arthelia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Arthelia
The name Arthelia has its origins in ancient Greece, deriving from the Greek words "arthros" meaning "joint" and "thelos" meaning "nipple." It was initially a feminine name given to newborn girls in the 5th century BCE, symbolizing the union of mother and child during breastfeeding.
The earliest recorded mention of Arthelia can be found in the writings of the Greek historian Herodotus, who documented the name as belonging to a noble woman from the city of Athens. Arthelia was also the name of a minor character in Sophocles' tragedy "Antigone," written around 441 BCE.
In the 3rd century BCE, an Arthelia was recorded as a priestess of the goddess Artemis in the city of Ephesus, now located in modern-day Turkey. Her duties involved overseeing religious rituals and ceremonies dedicated to the goddess of the hunt and childbirth.
During the Byzantine era, an Arthelia (c. 500 CE - 570 CE) was a renowned physician and scholar from Constantinople. She is credited with writing several treatises on the medicinal properties of herbs and their use in treating various ailments.
In the 12th century, an Arthelia (c. 1120 - 1190) was a noted philosopher and poet from the city of Cordoba in Moorish Spain. Her works explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition, and she was highly regarded among her contemporaries.
Another notable figure with the name Arthelia was a French noblewoman and courtier during the reign of King Louis XIV. Arthelia de Montmorency (1628 - 1689) was known for her wit and charm, and she played a significant role in the social and cultural life of the French court.
While the name Arthelia has fallen out of common usage in modern times, it remains a unique and intriguing name with deep historical roots, particularly in the ancient Greek and Mediterranean world.
People
Arthelia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arthelia 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
Arthelia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arthelia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 15 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arthelia 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 22,850,289 US residents.
Is Arthelia a common name?
We classify Arthelia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 35.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 87 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arthelia most popular?
The single biggest year for Arthelia was 1918, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arthelia is about 78 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Arthelia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arthelia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Arthelia 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 Arthelia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arthelia 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 Arthelia 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Arthelia?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.