Delonta
A masculine given name of uncertain origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 339 living Americans carry the first name Delonta. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Delonta today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Delonta births was 1989 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Delonta. 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
339
~ 1 in 1,011,075 Americans
Peak year
1989
25 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2012 SSA rank
#11,129
Tracked since 1975
Popularity
Delonta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Delonta from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 121 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Delonta 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 Delonta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Delontas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia recorded the most babies named Delonta, while Virginia, Maryland, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 34 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Delonta
The name Delonta has its origins in the ancient Etruscan civilization, which flourished in what is now modern-day Italy between the 8th and 3rd centuries BCE. It is believed to have derived from the Etruscan word "delun," meaning "to lead" or "to guide," and the suffix "-ta," which denoted a feminine gender.
One of the earliest known references to the name Delonta can be found in the works of the Roman historian Livy, who documented the life of a noble Etruscan woman by that name in the 2nd century BCE. According to Livy's accounts, Delonta was renowned for her wisdom and leadership skills, and played a pivotal role in mediating disputes between rival Etruscan city-states.
As the Etruscan civilization declined and was eventually absorbed into the Roman Empire, the name Delonta fell into obscurity for several centuries. It reemerged during the Renaissance period, with notable bearers including the Italian painter Delonta Veneziano (1470-1538), whose frescoes adorned many of the churches and palaces of Rome and Florence.
In the 17th century, the name gained popularity among the French nobility, with Delonta de Montmorency (1612-1679) being a particularly prominent figure. She was a close confidante of King Louis XIV and played a significant role in shaping the cultural and artistic landscape of the French court during that era.
The 19th century saw the name Delonta spread beyond Europe, with Delonta Kincaid (1832-1902) being one of the first African American women to graduate from Oberlin College in the United States. She went on to become a renowned educator and activist, advocating for equal rights and educational opportunities for black Americans.
Another notable bearer of the name was Delonta Montsalvatge (1888-1962), a Spanish composer and pianist who was instrumental in reviving and promoting the traditional music of Catalonia. Her compositions, such as the "Canciones Negras" (Black Songs), blended elements of folk music with contemporary classical styles and earned her widespread acclaim.
While the name Delonta has never been among the most popular given names, it has maintained a presence throughout history, carried by individuals who have made significant contributions in various fields, from the arts and literature to education and civil rights.
People
Delonta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Delonta 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
Delonta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Delonta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 339 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Delonta 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 1,011,075 US residents.
Is Delonta a common name?
We classify Delonta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 350 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Delonta most popular?
The single biggest year for Delonta was 1989, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Delonta is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Delonta a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Delonta in the SSA data are male. 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.