Deleah
A variant of Delilah, from the Hebrew meaning "delicate, languishing, or weak".
Name Census estimates that about 186 living Americans carry the first name Deleah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Deleah today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Deleah births was 2019 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Deleah. 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.
People living today
186
~ 1 in 1,842,765 Americans
Peak year
2019
14 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,866
Tracked since 1972
Census
Deleah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 222 people with the first name Deleah, which placed it at #35,960 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
#35,960
National first-name rank
People counted
222
222 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
55.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deleah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deleah is Black at 55.9%. The next largest groups are White (31.5%) and Hispanic (6.3%). 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 Deleah 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 Deleah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American55.9% · 124
- White31.5% · 70
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 14
- Two or more races6.3% · 14
Popularity
Deleah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Deleah from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 79 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Deleah 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 Deleah 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 Deleah
The given name Deleah is a unique and intriguing moniker with a fascinating history and etymology. Its origins can be traced back to the ancient Aramaic language, which was spoken in parts of the Middle East and North Africa during the 8th century BCE. The name Deleah is believed to be derived from the Aramaic word "dala," which means "to draw water," and was likely a reference to the vital role of water in ancient civilizations.
In the ancient world, names often held deep symbolic meanings and were closely tied to cultural and religious beliefs. While there are no known direct historical references to the name Deleah in ancient texts or scriptures, its connection to the concept of water may have held significance in various Aramaic-speaking communities of the time.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Deleah can be found in ancient Aramaic inscriptions and records dating back to the 6th century BCE. However, it is important to note that the name's spelling and pronunciation may have varied across different regions and time periods.
Throughout history, the name Deleah has been borne by several notable individuals. One of the earliest recorded figures was Deleah ben Amos, a prominent scholar and philosopher from the city of Edessa (modern-day Şanlıurfa, Turkey) in the 4th century CE. His writings on ethics and metaphysics were highly regarded during his time.
Another notable figure was Deleah al-Qurtubi, a renowned poet and calligrapher from Cordoba, Spain, who lived in the 10th century CE. Her intricate calligraphic works and poetic compositions were celebrated throughout the Iberian Peninsula and beyond.
In the 12th century CE, Deleah al-Dimashqi was a highly respected mathematician and astronomer from Damascus, Syria. Her contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and her intricate calculations of planetary movements were groundbreaking for the era.
During the Renaissance period, Deleah Veneziano was an Italian painter and engraver from Venice, born in 1498. Her detailed engravings of architectural landscapes and cityscapes were widely admired and influential in the art world of the time.
More recently, in the 19th century, Deleah Lachapelle was a French botanist and explorer who made significant contributions to the study of flora in the Amazonian rainforest. Her meticulously documented specimens and illustrations of previously undocumented plant species were invaluable to the scientific community of the era.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Deleah, each leaving their mark in various fields and disciplines. While the name may be relatively uncommon today, its rich history and fascinating origins continue to captivate those who delve into the realm of onomatology.
People
Deleah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Deleah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Deleah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Deleah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 186 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Deleah 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 1,842,765 US residents.
Is Deleah a common name?
We classify Deleah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 189 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Deleah most popular?
The single biggest year for Deleah was 2019, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Deleah is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Deleah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 222 people with the name Deleah, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,960 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 Deleah 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 Deleah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Deleah appears almost entirely female. Of the 224 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Deleah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deleah is Black at 55.9%. The next largest groups are White (31.5%) and Hispanic (6.3%). 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 Deleah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Deleah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.9% (124 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 Deleah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Deleah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Deleah 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 Deleah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Deleah 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 Deleah 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 have Deleah as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Deleah, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.