Delpha
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly related to the Greek term "delphys", meaning "womb".
Name Census estimates that about 282 living Americans carry the first name Delpha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Delpha today is around 79 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Delpha births was 1921 (74 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Delpha. 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 Delpha is about 79 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Delphas were born before 1957.
People living today
282
~ 1 in 1,215,441 Americans
Peak year
1921
74 babies that year
Average age
79
years old
1979 SSA rank
#10,586
Tracked since 1882
Census
Delpha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 504 people with the first name Delpha, which placed it at #20,488 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
#20,488
National first-name rank
People counted
504
504 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
81.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Delpha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Delpha is White at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Black (6.2%) and Hispanic (5.2%). 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 Delpha 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 Delpha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.7% · 412
- Black or African American6.2% · 31
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 26
- Two or more races3.8% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 7
Popularity
Delpha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Delpha from the 1880s through to the 1970s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 548 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Delpha 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 Delpha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Delphas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. Missouri, Kentucky, Oklahoma recorded the most babies named Delpha, while West Virginia, Texas, Idaho recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 30 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Delpha
The given name Delpha is derived from the Greek word "delphus," which means "womb" or "deep inmost recess." Its origins can be traced back to ancient Greece, where it was likely used as a symbolic name reflecting fertility and femininity.
In Greek mythology, the name Delpha is connected to the oracle of Delphi, a sacred site located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus. The oracle was considered the most prestigious and authoritative among the Greeks, and the name Delpha may have been associated with the mystical and prophetic aspects of the site.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Delpha can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who lived in the 5th century BC. He mentions a woman named Delpha in his work "The Histories," though details about her life are scarce.
In the Middle Ages, the name Delpha gained popularity among certain Christian communities, possibly due to its association with the Greek word "delphos," meaning "dolphin." The dolphin was seen as a symbol of salvation and protection in early Christian art and literature.
One notable bearer of the name Delpha was Saint Delpha of Sardes, a 4th-century Christian martyr from Sardis, in modern-day Turkey. She is venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.
Another historical figure with the name Delpha was Delpha Louisa Campbell (1840-1914), an American educator and missionary who worked among the Native American tribes in the late 19th century. She established several schools and advocated for the education of indigenous children.
In the literary world, the name Delpha appears in the works of the American novelist and short story writer Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960). One of her characters, Delpha Williams, is featured in the novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God."
The name Delpha also has a presence in the arts. Delpha Hudson (1880-1965) was an American painter and printmaker known for her landscapes and portraits of Native Americans. She was a member of the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors.
Finally, Delpha Lucille Webb (1899-1950) was an American aviator and one of the first women to earn a commercial pilot's license in the United States. She was a pioneer in the field of aviation and helped pave the way for future female pilots.
People
Delpha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Delpha 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
Delpha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Delpha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 282 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Delpha 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 1,215,441 US residents.
Is Delpha a common name?
We classify Delpha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,025 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Delpha most popular?
The single biggest year for Delpha was 1921, when 74 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Delpha is about 79 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Delpha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 504 people with the name Delpha, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,488 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 Delpha 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 Delpha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Delpha leans strongly female. 495 people counted with this name were female (98.0%), compared with 10 male bearers (2.0%). 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 Delpha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Delpha is White at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Black (6.2%) and Hispanic (5.2%). 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 Delpha most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Delpha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.7% (412 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 Delpha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Delpha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Delpha 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 Delpha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Delpha 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 Delpha 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 Delpha?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.