Olethia
Of Greek origin, meaning "bringer of wealth or riches".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Olethia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Olethia today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Olethia births was 1932 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Olethia. 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 Olethia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1932
9 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
1989 SSA rank
#11,891
Tracked since 1923
Census
Olethia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 111 people with the first name Olethia, which placed it at #51,800 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
#51,800
National first-name rank
People counted
111
111 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
82.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Olethia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Olethia is Black at 82.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and White (5.4%). 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 Olethia 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 Olethia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American82.9% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 7
- White5.4% · 6
- Two or more races3.6% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
Popularity
Olethia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Olethia from the 1920s through to the 1980s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 22 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
Olethia 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 Olethia 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 Olethia
The name Olethia is a relatively obscure one, with its origins shrouded in mystery. Some scholars believe it to be derived from the ancient Greek word "olethrios," which means "destructive" or "ruinous." This could suggest that the name was initially bestowed upon individuals who were perceived as fierce warriors or formidable opponents.
Another theory traces the name's roots to the Latin word "olere," which means "to smell." In this context, Olethia may have been used to describe someone with a distinctive or memorable scent, either pleasant or unpleasant. However, this speculation remains largely unsubstantiated.
Despite its ambiguous beginnings, the name Olethia has been recorded in various historical texts and documents over the centuries. One of the earliest known references can be found in a medieval manuscript from the 12th century, where an Olethia is mentioned as a noblewoman residing in a small village in present-day France.
In the 16th century, an Olethia Blackwood was celebrated as a renowned herbalist and healer in England. Her expertise in the medicinal properties of plants and her dedication to her craft earned her widespread acclaim among her contemporaries.
During the 18th century, Olethia Cartwright, a British playwright and poet, gained recognition for her thought-provoking works that explored themes of love, loss, and societal injustice. Her play "The Virtuous Wife" was particularly well-received and contributed to the cultural discourse of her time.
In the realm of science, Olethia Harding, an American botanist born in 1875, made significant contributions to the study of plant life in the southwestern United States. Her meticulous research and extensive field work led to the discovery of several new plant species, earning her a place in the annals of botanical history.
Lastly, Olethia Mendoza, a Mexican activist and human rights advocate born in 1942, dedicated her life to fighting for the rights of indigenous communities and advocating for social justice. Her unwavering commitment to her cause and her tireless efforts to uplift marginalized groups have left an indelible mark on the fabric of Mexican society.
While the name Olethia may not be as common or well-known as other monikers, its rich tapestry of history and the remarkable individuals who have borne it serve as a testament to its enduring legacy.
People
Olethia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Olethia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with O
Other first names starting with O with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Olethia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Olethia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Olethia 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 Olethia a common name?
We classify Olethia 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, 47 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Olethia most popular?
The single biggest year for Olethia was 1932, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Olethia is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Olethia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 111 people with the name Olethia, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #51,800 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 Olethia 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 Olethia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Olethia appears almost entirely female. Of the 109 people counted with this name, 99.1% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Olethia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Olethia is Black at 82.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and White (5.4%). 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 Olethia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Olethia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.9% (92 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 Olethia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Olethia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Olethia 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 Olethia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Olethia 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 Olethia 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 many people are named Olethia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.