Talula
An English feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly blend of "Tally" and "Lulu".
Name Census estimates that about 394 living Americans carry the first name Talula. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Talula today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Talula births was 2024 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Talula. 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 Talula with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
394
~ 1 in 869,935 Americans
Peak year
2024
37 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,019
Tracked since 2001
Census
Talula in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 296 people with the first name Talula, which placed it at #29,744 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
#29,744
National first-name rank
People counted
296
296 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
73.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Talula
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Talula is White at 73.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.8%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). 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 Talula 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 Talula at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.6% · 218
- Hispanic or Latino12.8% · 38
- Two or more races6.4% · 19
- Black or African American4.1% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.0% · 9
Popularity
Talula: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Talula 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 152 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Talula remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Talula 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 Talula during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Talulas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Talula
The name Talula is derived from the Spanish and Native American word "tala," meaning "dew" or "morning dew." It is believed to have originated in Mexico and Central America during the pre-Columbian era, when various indigenous cultures thrived in the region.
Talula was likely a name used by the Aztec, Maya, or other Mesoamerican civilizations to symbolize the beauty and freshness of nature, as morning dew was seen as a sign of renewal and new beginnings. The name may have been given to children born in the early hours of the day or during the rainy season.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Talula can be found in the writings of Spanish conquistadors and missionaries who encountered indigenous populations in the Americas during the 16th and 17th centuries. Some historical accounts mention Talula as the name of a noble woman or a prominent figure in a local tribe.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Talula. One of the most famous was Talula Bankhead (1902-1968), an American actress known for her roles in films such as "Lifeboat" and "Die! Die! My Darling!" She was also a prominent stage actress and a recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.
Another notable Talula was Talula Morton (1904-1987), an American dancer and choreographer who worked with renowned modern dance pioneers like Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey. She was also a founding member of the Bennington College dance department.
In the realm of literature, Talula Gordon (1917-2003) was an American novelist and short story writer known for her works exploring the lives of African American women in the mid-20th century. Her novel "Born to Be" was widely acclaimed and explored themes of race, identity, and family relationships.
Talula Cartwright (1942-2019) was a British actress best known for her roles in films like "Prick Up Your Ears" and "The Dressmaker." She had a prolific career in theater, television, and film, and was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Talula Riley (born 1985) is a contemporary English actress and writer who has appeared in films such as "Inception," "St Trinian's," and the "Westworld" television series. She has also authored several books and is known for her advocacy of environmental and humanitarian causes.
People
Talula + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Talula 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
Talula: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Talula?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 394 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Talula 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 869,935 US residents.
Is Talula a common name?
We classify Talula as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 398 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Talula most popular?
The single biggest year for Talula was 2024, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Talula is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Talula in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 296 people with the name Talula, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,744 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 Talula 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 Talula?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Talula appears almost entirely female. Of the 292 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Talula?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Talula is White at 73.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.8%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). 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 Talula most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Talula in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.6% (218 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 Talula in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Talula a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Talula 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 Talula still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Talula 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 Talula 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 have Talula as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Talula on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.