Telly
A diminutive form of the name Telemachus, derived from Greek and meaning "far away battle".
Name Census estimates that about 1,513 living Americans carry the first name Telly. It is a predominantly male name (94.9% of registrations). The average person named Telly today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Telly births was 1974 (312 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Telly. 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
1.5K
~ 1 in 226,540 Americans
Peak year
1974
312 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,585
Tracked since 1967
Census
Telly in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,328 people with the first name Telly, which placed it at #10,152 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
#10,152
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,328 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
62.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Telly
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Telly is Black at 62.4%. The next largest groups are White (21.1%) and Hispanic (8.0%). 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 Telly 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 Telly at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American62.4% · 829
- White21.1% · 280
- Hispanic or Latino8.0% · 106
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.4% · 59
- Two or more races3.4% · 45
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 9
Gender
Gender distribution for Telly
Telly leans heavily male at 94.9% of total registrations, but 82 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Telly as a male name
- Ranked #13,980 in 2024
- 5 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1974 (294 births)
Telly as a female name
- Ranked #7,585 in 1978
- 8 female births in 1978
- Peak: 1975 (19 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Telly leans strongly male. 1,122 people counted with this name were male (84.2%), compared with 211 female bearers (15.8%).
Popularity
Telly: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Telly from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 1,121 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Telly 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 Telly during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tellys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 21 states and territories. Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina recorded the most babies named Telly, while Indiana, Arkansas, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 37 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Telly
The name Telly is believed to have its origins in the ancient Greek language. It is derived from the Greek word "telos," which means "end" or "completion." This suggests that the name may have been given to those who were born at the end of a journey or a significant event.
In ancient Greek mythology, there is a reference to a character named Telly, who was said to be a nymph associated with the goddess Artemis. However, little is known about this figure, and the connection to the name's meaning is unclear.
The earliest recorded use of the name Telly dates back to the 14th century, when it appeared in historical records from the Byzantine Empire. During this time, the name was predominantly used in the Greek-speaking regions of the empire.
One of the most notable historical figures with the name Telly was Telly Savalas, an American actor and singer of Greek descent, who was born in 1922 and died in 1994. He was best known for his portrayal of the bald, lollipop-sucking detective Kojak in the television series of the same name.
Another famous individual with the name Telly was Telly Leung, an American actor and singer born in 1980. He is known for his roles in various Broadway productions, including "Aladdin" and "Allegiance."
In the field of sports, Telly Savalas Patara was a Thai professional boxer who competed in the 1980s and 1990s. He was a multiple-time Muay Thai champion and gained recognition for his skillful fighting style.
Telly Addison was an American clergyman and educator who lived in the 19th century. He was a prominent figure in the Methodist Episcopal Church and served as the president of several educational institutions, including the East Tennessee Wesleyan University.
Another historical figure with the name Telly was Telly Savalas Vourkoutiotis, a Greek-American businessman and philanthropist who lived in the 20th century. He was known for his philanthropic efforts and contributions to various charitable organizations, particularly those focused on education and healthcare.
While the name Telly may not be as common as some other names, its rich history and connections to ancient Greek culture and mythology make it a unique and interesting choice for parents seeking a name with a strong cultural heritage.
People
Telly + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Telly 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
Telly: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Telly?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,513 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Telly 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 226,540 US residents.
Is Telly a common name?
We classify Telly as "Rare". It ranks above 92.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,609 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Telly most popular?
The single biggest year for Telly was 1974, when 312 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Telly is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Telly in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,328 people with the name Telly, or 0.44 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,152 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 Telly 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 Telly?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Telly leans strongly male. 1,122 people counted with this name were male (84.2%), compared with 211 female bearers (15.8%). 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 Telly?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Telly is Black at 62.4%. The next largest groups are White (21.1%) and Hispanic (8.0%). 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 Telly most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Telly in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.4% (829 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 Telly in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Telly a male name?
Yes, 94.9% of people registered as Telly 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.
Is Telly still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Telly 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 Telly 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 the name Telly?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.