Dleh
A palindromic invented name of unknown meaning or origin.
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Dleh. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dleh today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dleh births was 2017 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dleh. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dleh. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
2017
5 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2020 SSA rank
#12,531
Tracked since 2017
Popularity
Dleh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dleh from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 5 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dleh 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 Dleh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dleh
The given name Dleh has its origins in the ancient Sumerian language, which dates back to around 3500 BC in the region of Mesopotamia, now modern-day Iraq. It is derived from the Sumerian word "heldi," which means "to protect" or "to guard." This name was initially used by the Sumerians, who were among the earliest civilizations in the world and are credited with developing writing, mathematics, and other significant advancements.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dleh can be found in the Sumerian cuneiform inscriptions from the city-state of Uruk, dated around 2800 BC. These inscriptions mention a prominent figure named Dleh-kal, who was believed to be a high-ranking official or a priest in the city's temple complex.
In the later periods of Mesopotamian history, the name Dleh appeared in various ancient texts and records, including the Akkadian and Babylonian sources. One notable individual bearing this name was Dleh-ushezib, a respected scholar and scribe who lived during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC) in the Neo-Babylonian Empire.
Moving forward in history, the name Dleh remained in use among certain communities in the Middle East and North Africa, albeit with some variations in spelling and pronunciation. One notable figure was Dleh ibn Abi Dulaf (876-944 AD), an Arab geographer and traveler from modern-day Iraq, who wrote extensively about his journeys through various regions of the Islamic world.
Another prominent individual with the name Dleh was Dleh al-Din al-Suhrawardi (1144-1234 AD), a Persian philosopher, and mystic who founded the Suhrawardi order of Sufism. His works had a significant influence on Islamic philosophy and mysticism during the medieval period.
In more recent centuries, the name Dleh has been recorded among various communities in the Middle East and North Africa, although its usage became less common. One notable figure was Dleh Bey (1851-1928), an Ottoman statesman and diplomat from modern-day Turkey, who served as the governor of several provinces in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
While the name Dleh may not be as widely used today as it once was, its ancient Sumerian roots and historical significance make it a unique and intriguing name with deep cultural connections to the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia.
People
Dleh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dleh 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
Dleh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dleh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dleh 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Dleh a common name?
We classify Dleh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dleh most popular?
The single biggest year for Dleh was 2017, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dleh is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Dleh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dleh a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dleh 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.
Is Dleh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dleh 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 Dleh 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Dleh?
See how many people have the name Dleh on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.