Deleta
A feminine name derived from the Latin deletus meaning "abolished" or "erased".
Name Census estimates that about 30 living Americans carry the first name Deleta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Deleta today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Deleta births was 1957 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Deleta. 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 Deleta is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Deletas were born before 1967.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Deleta. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
30
~ 1 in 11,425,145 Americans
Peak year
1957
9 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
1966 SSA rank
#6,807
Tracked since 1939
Census
Deleta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 165 people with the first name Deleta, which placed it at #43,061 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
#43,061
National first-name rank
People counted
165
165 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
49.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deleta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deleta is White at 49.7%. The next largest groups are Black (41.8%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Deleta 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 Deleta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White49.7% · 82
- Black or African American41.8% · 69
- Two or more races3.6% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.0% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 3
Popularity
Deleta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Deleta from the 1930s through to the 1960s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 24 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1950s peak, Deleta remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Deleta 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 Deleta 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 Deleta
The name Deleta has its origins in the ancient Greek language, dating back to the classical period of ancient Greece. It is derived from the Greek word "deletos," which means "erasable" or "obliterable." This linguistic root suggests that the name may have been given to individuals who were seen as capable of erasing or overcoming challenges or obstacles.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Deleta can be found in the works of the ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician, Pythagoras. In his writings, he mentions a woman named Deleta who was a member of his philosophical school and a respected scholar in her own right. Unfortunately, not much is known about her life or specific contributions, but her name has been preserved through Pythagoras' texts.
During the Byzantine era, the name Deleta gained popularity among the Christian community. In the 6th century, there was a notable figure named Deleta of Antioch, who was a nun and renowned for her piety and devotion to the church. She is said to have performed miracles and lived an exemplary life, inspiring many with her unwavering faith.
In the medieval period, the name Deleta was particularly prevalent in certain regions of Europe, such as Italy and Spain. One notable bearer of the name was Deleta Cavalcanti, an Italian noblewoman and poet who lived in the 13th century. She was a member of the renowned Cavalcanti family and is remembered for her contributions to the literary culture of her time.
Another famous Deleta was Deleta de la Cruz, a Spanish mystic and nun who lived in the 16th century. She was known for her visions and spiritual writings, which gained her a reputation as a holy woman and mystic within the Catholic Church. Her life and teachings continue to inspire many to this day.
In the 18th century, there was a renowned French botanist named Deleta Desfontaines, who made significant contributions to the field of plant taxonomy. She is credited with describing and classifying numerous plant species, and her work helped advance the understanding of plant diversity and classification during that era.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Deleta. While the name may not be as common today, its rich history and linguistic origins serve as a testament to its enduring legacy and cultural significance across various regions and time periods.
People
Deleta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Deleta 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
Deleta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Deleta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 30 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Deleta 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 11,425,145 US residents.
Is Deleta a common name?
We classify Deleta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 46.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 45 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Deleta most popular?
The single biggest year for Deleta was 1957, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Deleta is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Deleta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 165 people with the name Deleta, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,061 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 Deleta 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 Deleta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Deleta appears almost entirely female. Of the 160 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Deleta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deleta is White at 49.7%. The next largest groups are Black (41.8%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Deleta most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Deleta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.7% (82 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 Deleta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Deleta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Deleta 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 Deleta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Deleta 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 Deleta 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 are named Deleta?
Want to know how many people have the name Deleta? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.