Delila
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "delicate" or "languishing".
Name Census estimates that about 2,511 living Americans carry the first name Delila. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Delila today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Delila births was 2008 (118 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Delila. 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 Delila with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.5K
~ 1 in 136,501 Americans
Peak year
2008
118 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,452
Tracked since 1880
Census
Delila in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,690 people with the first name Delila, which placed it at #6,077 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
#6,077
National first-name rank
People counted
2.7K
2,690 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
51.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Delila
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Delila is White at 51.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (35.7%) and Black (7.1%). 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 Delila 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 Delila at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.2% · 1,376
- Hispanic or Latino35.7% · 961
- Black or African American7.1% · 191
- Two or more races3.4% · 92
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 26
Popularity
Delila: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Delila from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 636 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Delila remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Delila 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 Delila during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Delilas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Delila, while Kansas, Georgia, South Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 50 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Delila
The name Delila is rooted in the ancient Semitic languages, with its origins tracing back to the Philistine culture of the Levant region, which encompassed modern-day Israel, Palestine, and parts of Syria and Lebanon. The name is believed to have derived from the Hebrew word "delilah," meaning "delicate" or "languishing." This etymology suggests that the name was initially associated with fragility, tenderness, or weariness.
In the Hebrew Bible's Book of Judges, Delila is portrayed as the treacherous lover of Samson, the legendary Israelite warrior known for his immense strength. According to the biblical narrative, Delila seduced Samson and betrayed him to the Philistines, leading to his capture and the loss of his famed locks, which were the source of his power. This ancient story has cemented Delila's name in religious and cultural folklore, often portraying her as a cunning and deceitful figure.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Delila can be found in the ancient Greek play "Samson Agonistes" by John Milton, written in 1671. In this tragic drama, Milton reimagines the biblical tale of Samson and Delila, with the latter being portrayed as a temptress who ultimately leads to Samson's downfall.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Delila. Delila Dervi (1854-1925) was a renowned Turkish operatic soprano who achieved fame for her performances in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Delila Valerie Quintana (1859-1938) was a Mexican-American educator and advocate for bilingual education, who played a significant role in establishing educational opportunities for Spanish-speaking children in the United States.
In the realm of literature, Delila Agostini (1910-1982) was an Italian writer and poet known for her works exploring themes of love, nature, and the human condition. Delila Pera (born 1944) is an acclaimed Brazilian actress and singer who has graced both stage and screen throughout her illustrious career.
Another notable figure is Delila Faridullah Shahista Jehan Begum (1891-1955), who was a prominent Indian educator, social reformer, and Muslim feminist. She played a pivotal role in establishing educational institutions for women in British India and advocating for women's rights and empowerment.
People
Delila + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Delila 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
Delila: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Delila?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,511 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Delila 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 136,501 US residents.
Is Delila a common name?
We classify Delila as "Rare". It ranks above 94.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,523 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Delila most popular?
The single biggest year for Delila was 2008, when 118 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Delila is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Delila in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,690 people with the name Delila, or 0.89 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,077 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 Delila 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 Delila?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Delila appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,685 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Delila?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Delila is White at 51.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (35.7%) and Black (7.1%). 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 Delila most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Delila in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.2% (1,376 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 Delila in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Delila a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Delila 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 Delila still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Delila 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 Delila 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 Delila?
Find out how many people have the name Delila on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.