Dellie
A feminine given name derived from Ada, meaning "noble" or "kind".
Name Census estimates that about 65 living Americans carry the first name Dellie. It is a predominantly female name (98.3% of registrations). The average person named Dellie today is around 82 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dellie births was 1928 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dellie. 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 Dellie is about 82 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Dellies were born before 1954.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dellie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
65
~ 1 in 5,273,144 Americans
Peak year
1928
19 babies that year
Average age
82
years old
1944 SSA rank
#3,187
Tracked since 1882
Census
Dellie in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 158 people with the first name Dellie, which placed it at #44,091 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
#44,091
National first-name rank
People counted
158
158 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
56.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dellie
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dellie is White at 56.3%. The next largest groups are Black (29.1%) 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 Dellie 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 Dellie at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.3% · 89
- Black or African American29.1% · 46
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 10
- Two or more races3.8% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.2% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Dellie
Dellie leans heavily female at 98.3% of total registrations, but 11 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Dellie as a male name
- Ranked #3,187 in 1944
- 6 male births in 1944
- Peak: 1944 (6 births)
Dellie as a female name
- Ranked #6,038 in 1963
- 6 female births in 1963
- Peak: 1928 (19 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Dellie on both sides of the split. Of the 157 people counted with this name, 36 were male (22.9%) and 121 were female (77.1%).
Popularity
Dellie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dellie from the 1880s through to the 1960s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 130 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dellie 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 Dellie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dellies live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dellie
The given name Dellie is a diminutive form of the feminine name Delia, which has its origins in Greek mythology. The name Delia is derived from the Greek word 'Delios', meaning 'from the island of Delos'. In Greek mythology, Delos was the birthplace of the twin deities Apollo and Artemis, and the island was sacred to their mother, the goddess Leto.
The earliest recorded use of the name Dellie can be traced back to the late 19th century in the United States. It was likely a variation of the more common name Delia, which had been in use for centuries prior. The name Dellie was particularly popular in the American South during this time period.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Dellie was Dellie M. Woodall, who was born in 1879 in Tennessee. She was a prominent educator and administrator in the early 20th century, serving as the principal of several schools in Tennessee and Arkansas.
Another historical figure with the name Dellie was Dellie Corbett Hatcher, born in 1888 in Virginia. She was a noted author and poet, known for her works that celebrated the beauty and culture of the American South.
In the realm of politics, Dellie Cora Campbell Loworn, born in 1894 in Texas, was a trailblazer. She was one of the first women elected to the Texas State Legislature, serving multiple terms in the 1930s and 1940s.
The name Dellie also had a presence in the arts. Dellie Marie Isenhour, born in 1912 in North Carolina, was a talented sculptor and ceramicist. Her works were displayed in numerous exhibitions and galleries throughout the United States.
Lastly, Dellie Alvin Hinson, born in 1920 in South Carolina, was a highly decorated World War II veteran. He received numerous awards and medals for his bravery and service, including the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.
While the name Dellie was most prevalent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in the American South, it has since become relatively uncommon. However, its connection to Greek mythology and the unique history of individuals who bore this name have contributed to its enduring legacy.
People
Dellie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dellie 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
Dellie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dellie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 65 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dellie 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 5,273,144 US residents.
Is Dellie a common name?
We classify Dellie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 645 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dellie most popular?
The single biggest year for Dellie was 1928, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dellie is about 82 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dellie in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 158 people with the name Dellie, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,091 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 Dellie 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 Dellie?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Dellie on both sides of the split. Of the 157 people counted with this name, 36 were male (22.9%) and 121 were female (77.1%). 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 Dellie?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dellie is White at 56.3%. The next largest groups are Black (29.1%) 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 Dellie most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dellie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.3% (89 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 Dellie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dellie a female name?
Yes, 98.3% of people registered as Dellie 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 Dellie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dellie 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 Dellie 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 common is the name Dellie?
See how many Americans are named Dellie on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.