Talea
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "prosperous" or "wealthy".
Name Census estimates that about 844 living Americans carry the first name Talea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Talea today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Talea births was 2004 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Talea. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Talea with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
844
~ 1 in 406,107 Americans
Peak year
2004
40 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,869
Tracked since 1970
Census
Talea in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 743 people with the first name Talea, which placed it at #15,463 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
#15,463
National first-name rank
People counted
743
743 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
45.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Talea
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Talea is Black at 45.1%. The next largest groups are White (31.9%) and Two or More Races (10.5%). 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 Talea 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 Talea at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American45.1% · 335
- White31.9% · 237
- Two or more races10.5% · 78
- Hispanic or Latino9.2% · 68
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 8
Popularity
Talea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Talea from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 281 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Talea 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 Talea during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Taleas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Florida, Virginia recorded the most babies named Talea, while Virginia, Florida, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Talea
The name Talea originates from the Hawaiian language, where it is a variant spelling of the name Talia. The name likely emerged in the late 18th or early 19th century, during the period of increased contact between Hawaii and the Western world.
Talea is derived from the Hawaiian word tālea, which means "branch of a tree" or "offshoot." This connection to nature and growth may have influenced the name's adoption as a given name in Hawaii.
While the name Talea does not appear to have any direct references in ancient Hawaiian texts or religious scriptures, its linguistic roots tie it to the rich cultural traditions of the Hawaiian islands.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Talea was Talea Kahookano, a Hawaiian woman born in the early 19th century. She was a member of the Royal Guard of King Kamehameha III and played a role in the preservation of Hawaiian culture and traditions during a period of significant change.
In the 20th century, Talea Kaohi (1906-1991) was a notable Hawaiian educator and advocate for the preservation of the Hawaiian language. She worked tirelessly to establish Hawaiian language immersion programs and ensure the transmission of the language to future generations.
Another notable figure was Talea Ralph (1940-2022), a Hawaiian singer and musician who helped popularize traditional Hawaiian music and hula. She performed extensively throughout Hawaii and abroad, sharing the cultural heritage of the islands through her art.
In the field of literature, Talea Portlock (born 1949) is a Hawaiian author and poet whose works explore themes of identity, culture, and the experience of indigenous peoples. Her poetry collections, including "Smolder" and "Ark Hive," have received critical acclaim.
Lastly, Talea Kaluanui (born 1972) is a contemporary Hawaiian artist known for her multimedia installations and sculptures that incorporate traditional Hawaiian materials and techniques. Her work explores the intersections of indigenous traditions and modern art, celebrating the resilience and continuity of Hawaiian culture.
People
Talea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Talea as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Talea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Talea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 844 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Talea 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 406,107 US residents.
Is Talea a common name?
We classify Talea as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 868 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Talea most popular?
The single biggest year for Talea was 2004, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Talea is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Talea in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 743 people with the name Talea, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,463 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 Talea 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 Talea?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Talea leans strongly female. 737 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 10 male bearers (1.3%). 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 Talea?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Talea is Black at 45.1%. The next largest groups are White (31.9%) and Two or More Races (10.5%). 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 Talea most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Talea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.1% (335 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 Talea in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Talea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Talea 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 Talea still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Talea 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 Talea 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 Talea?
Find out how many Americans are named Talea on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.