Delia
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "of Delos island".
Name Census estimates that about 20,334 living Americans carry the first name Delia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Delia today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Delia births was 1957 (490 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Delia. 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
- • Although Delia is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 62 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
20K
~ 1 in 16,856 Americans
Peak year
1957
490 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
1986 SSA rank
#1,522
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Delia
Out of the 37,235 babies given the name Delia since 1880, 99.8% 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.
Delia as a male name
- Ranked #4,963 in 1986
- 8 male births in 1986
- Peak: 1986 (8 births)
Delia as a female name
- Ranked #1,522 in 2024
- 141 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1957 (490 births)
Popularity
Delia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Delia 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 4,595 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
Delia 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 Delia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Delias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 40 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Delia, while Nebraska, Idaho, New Hampshire recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 645 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Delia
The name Delia has its roots in ancient Greek language and culture, dating back to the 5th century BC. It is believed to be derived from the Greek word "delios," which means "from the island of Delos." Delos was a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea, known for being the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis in Greek mythology.
In ancient Greek texts, Delia was used as an epithet for the goddess Artemis, referring to her as the "Delian Goddess" or the "Goddess of Delos." This connection to the revered goddess of the hunt and the moon likely contributed to the name's popularity in the ancient Greek world.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Delia can be found in the works of the ancient Greek lyric poet Pindar, who lived from around 522 BC to 443 BC. In his poetry, he refers to Artemis as "Delia," further solidifying the name's association with the goddess.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Delia. In ancient Rome, Delia was the name of a Roman matron mentioned in Pliny the Younger's letters, written around 100 AD. During the Renaissance period, Delia (1498-1543) was the name of an Italian poet and member of the famous Venetian literary circle known as the Accademia Veneziana.
In the 17th century, Delia (1615-1672) was the name of an English author and playwright who wrote under the pen name "Delia." She is best known for her collection of poetry titled "The Remonstrance of Delia."
Moving into the 19th century, Delia Salter Bacon (1811-1859) was an American writer and literary critic who famously, but controversially, claimed that the works of William Shakespeare were authored by a group of writers, including Francis Bacon.
In the 20th century, Delia Smith (born 1941) is a renowned English cook and television presenter, known for her influential cookery books and for teaching a generation of Britons how to cook.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have carried the name Delia, which has its origins deeply rooted in ancient Greek language, mythology, and culture.
People
Delia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Delia 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
Delia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Delia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 20,334 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Delia 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 16,856 US residents.
Is Delia a common name?
We classify Delia as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 37,235 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Delia most popular?
The single biggest year for Delia was 1957, when 490 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Delia is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Delia a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Delia 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.
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.