Tallula
An Indigenous American feminine name meaning "leaping water".
Name Census estimates that about 187 living Americans carry the first name Tallula. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tallula today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tallula births was 2024 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tallula. 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 Tallula with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
187
~ 1 in 1,832,911 Americans
Peak year
2024
19 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,348
Tracked since 2002
Popularity
Tallula: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tallula from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 77 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
Tallula 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 Tallula during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tallulas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Tallula
The name Tallula is a diminutive form of the Spanish name Talula, which itself is a variant spelling of the feminine name Talia. Talia is derived from the Greek name Thaleia, which was the name of one of the three Graces in Greek mythology, representing beauty and youthful charm. The name Thaleia comes from the Greek word "thaleia," meaning "blooming" or "flourishing."
Tallula as a given name first appeared in the late 19th century, although its exact origins are uncertain. It gained popularity in the early 20th century, particularly in the United States. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tallula was Tallulah Bankhead (1902-1968), an American actress known for her husky voice and outrageous personality. She was a prominent figure in the Hollywood golden age and starred in several films.
Another notable Tallula from history was Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (1775-1838), the paternal grandmother of the famous actress Tallulah Bankhead. She was a prominent socialite and plantation owner in Alabama during the early 19th century.
In the 1920s, the name Tallula gained further recognition with the birth of Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (1924-1991), the daughter of writer and politician Eugene Bankhead and niece of the actress Tallulah Bankhead. She was a prominent philanthropist and socialite in her own right.
Tallula Cartwright (1909-1970) was an English actress who appeared in several films during the 1930s and 1940s, including the 1939 adaptation of Wuthering Heights.
Tallula Showers (1907-2003) was an American actress and dancer who appeared in several Broadway productions and Hollywood films in the 1920s and 1930s, including the 1928 film Tenderloin.
While the name Tallula has its roots in the Spanish and Greek languages, it has become a popular given name in English-speaking countries, particularly in the United States and United Kingdom. Its association with notable figures in the entertainment industry has contributed to its enduring appeal as a unique and distinctive name.
People
Tallula + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tallula 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
Tallula: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tallula?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 187 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tallula 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 1,832,911 US residents.
Is Tallula a common name?
We classify Tallula as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 189 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tallula most popular?
The single biggest year for Tallula was 2024, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tallula is about 11 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 Tallula in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tallula a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tallula 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 Tallula still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tallula 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 Tallula 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 have Tallula as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Tallula, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.