Telesforo
A masculine name derived from Greek elements meaning "distant" and "bearing".
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the first name Telesforo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Telesforo today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Telesforo births was 1933 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Telesforo. 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.
People living today
131
~ 1 in 2,616,445 Americans
Peak year
1933
10 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
1997 SSA rank
#10,656
Tracked since 1914
Popularity
Telesforo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Telesforo from the 1910s through to the 1990s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 51 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
Telesforo 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 Telesforo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Telesforos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Telesforo
The name Telesforo has its origins in ancient Greek. It is derived from the words "teleos" meaning "complete" or "perfect" and "phoros" meaning "bearer". Thus, the name translates to "bearer of perfection" or "bearer of completeness". This name was popular among early Greek philosophers and scholars who believed in the pursuit of knowledge and virtue.
The earliest recorded use of the name Telesforo dates back to the 4th century BC. It is mentioned in several ancient Greek texts, including the works of Plato and Aristotle. In these philosophical writings, Telesforo is often used as an example of a virtuous name, symbolizing the ideals of wisdom and moral excellence.
During the Roman era, the name Telesforo gained popularity among the educated elite. It was adopted by several prominent figures, such as Telesforo of Rhodes, a renowned mathematician and astronomer who lived in the 1st century BC. He is credited with significant contributions to the field of geometry and the calculation of the circumference of the Earth.
In the early Christian era, the name Telesforo was associated with several saints and martyrs. One of the most notable was Saint Telesforo, who served as the seventh Bishop of Rome from around 125 to 136 AD. He is venerated as a martyr and is celebrated in the Catholic Church on January 5th.
Another historical figure bearing the name Telesforo was a 16th-century Italian artist and architect known as Telesforo da Brescia. He was active in the late Renaissance period and is renowned for his work on several churches and palaces in northern Italy, including the Chiesa di San Domenico in Crema.
The name Telesforo also appeared in the literary world. Telesforo Obregón was a Mexican novelist and poet who lived from 1835 to 1888. He is considered one of the pioneers of romantic literature in Mexico and is best known for his novel "Orozco y la Barca" published in 1866.
People
Telesforo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Telesforo 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
Telesforo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Telesforo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 131 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Telesforo 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 2,616,445 US residents.
Is Telesforo a common name?
We classify Telesforo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 251 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Telesforo most popular?
The single biggest year for Telesforo was 1933, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Telesforo is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Telesforo a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Telesforo in the SSA data are male. 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.
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.