Lethea
An uncommon feminine name derived from the Greek word for oblivion.
Name Census estimates that about 24 living Americans carry the first name Lethea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lethea today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lethea births was 1950 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lethea. 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 Lethea is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Letheas were born before 1970.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Lethea. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
24
~ 1 in 14,281,431 Americans
Peak year
1950
7 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
1970 SSA rank
#8,722
Tracked since 1911
Popularity
Lethea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lethea from the 1910s through to the 1970s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 17 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
Lethea 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 Lethea 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 Lethea
The name Lethea is derived from the Greek word "lethe," which means "oblivion" or "forgetfulness." This name has its origins in Greek mythology, where Lethe was the river of forgetfulness in the underworld. According to legend, the souls of the dead were required to drink from the waters of the Lethe river to forget their past lives before being reincarnated.
The earliest recorded use of the name Lethea can be traced back to ancient Greek literature, where it was often used as a poetic reference to the concept of oblivion or forgetfulness. One notable example is found in the works of the ancient Greek poet Hesiod, who lived around the 8th century BCE.
Throughout history, the name Lethea has been bestowed upon a few notable individuals. One such person was Lethea Townsend (1870-1944), an American lawyer and women's rights activist who fought for women's suffrage and the passage of the 19th Amendment, which granted American women the right to vote.
Another prominent figure named Lethea was Lethea Cottrell (1899-1976), a British artist and illustrator known for her botanical illustrations and watercolor paintings of flowers and landscapes. Her work was widely exhibited and can be found in collections around the world.
In the realm of literature, Lethea Maclachlan (1923-2006) was a Canadian author and illustrator of children's books. Her works, such as "Sarah, Plain and Tall" and "Caleb's Story," explored themes of family, friendship, and rural life, and earned her numerous awards and accolades.
Moving to the field of science, Lethea Oldfield (1924-2012) was a British mathematician and computer scientist who made significant contributions to the development of early digital computers. She worked at the University of Cambridge and played a crucial role in the design and programming of the EDSAC, one of the earliest stored-program computers.
Lastly, Lethea Conn (1939-2021) was an American actress and singer who appeared in numerous Broadway productions and television shows throughout her career. She is perhaps best known for her role as Mrs. Stephens in the sitcom "The Jeffersons" during the 1970s and 1980s.
People
Lethea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lethea as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lethea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lethea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 24 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lethea 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 14,281,431 US residents.
Is Lethea a common name?
We classify Lethea as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 54 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lethea most popular?
The single biggest year for Lethea was 1950, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lethea is about 66 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 Lethea in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lethea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lethea 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 Lethea still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lethea 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 Lethea 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 people are called Lethea?
You can see how many people share the name Lethea on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.