Thela
An African name meaning "to get firmly established".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Thela. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Thela today is around 77 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Thela births was 1918 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Thela. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Thela is about 77 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Thelas were born before 1959.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Thela. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1918
7 babies that year
Average age
77
years old
1955 SSA rank
#6,643
Tracked since 1918
Census
Thela in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 96 people with the first name Thela, which placed it at #53,564 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
#53,564
National first-name rank
People counted
96
96 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thela
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Thela is White at 76.0%. The next largest groups are Black (11.5%) and Hispanic (7.3%). 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 Thela 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 Thela at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.0% · 73
- Black or African American11.5% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino7.3% · 7
- Two or more races5.2% · 5
Popularity
Thela: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Thela from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 19 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
Thela 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 Thela during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Thela
The name Thela has its origins in ancient Greek culture, where it was derived from the word "thelein," meaning "to desire" or "to will." This name gained prominence during the classical period of ancient Greece, spanning from the 5th to the 4th centuries BCE.
Thela first appeared in historical records as the name of a prominent Athenian philosopher and physician who lived around 420 BCE. He was known for his teachings on the importance of moderation and balance in all aspects of life, including physical and mental well-being.
One of the earliest known references to the name Thela can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who documented the life of a Spartan warrior bearing this name. This warrior was renowned for his bravery and valor during the Peloponnesian War, which took place between 431 and 404 BCE.
In the realm of ancient Greek mythology, Thela was the name of a nymph who was believed to be a companion of the goddess Artemis. She was often depicted as a skilled huntress and a protector of the natural world, symbolizing the connection between humanity and the forces of nature.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the name Thela. One such figure was Thela of Lemnos (c. 640-570 BCE), a renowned ancient Greek poet known for her lyrical compositions and her contributions to the development of choral poetry.
Another prominent figure was Thela of Miletus (c. 500 BCE), a philosopher and mathematician who is credited with being one of the first individuals to propose the concept of an infinite and eternal universe.
During the Byzantine era, Thela was the name of a renowned scholar and theologian who lived in the 9th century CE. She was known for her extensive knowledge of ancient Greek literature and her contributions to the preservation and study of classical texts.
In more recent times, Thela Keatswa (1913-2000) was a South African activist and leader who played a significant role in the anti-apartheid movement. She dedicated her life to fighting for racial equality and social justice, becoming a prominent figure in the struggle against the oppressive regime.
Thela has also been the name of several literary characters, including the protagonist of the novel "The Thela Cycle" by the acclaimed Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis, published in 1938. This work explored themes of human nature, spirituality, and the pursuit of freedom.
People
Thela + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Thela 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
Thela: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Thela?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Thela 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Thela a common name?
We classify Thela as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 51 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Thela most popular?
The single biggest year for Thela was 1918, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Thela is about 77 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Thela in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 96 people with the name Thela, or 0.03 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #53,564 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 Thela 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 Thela?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Thela appears almost entirely female. Of the 101 people counted with this name, 99.0% 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 Thela?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Thela is White at 76.0%. The next largest groups are Black (11.5%) and Hispanic (7.3%). 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 Thela most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Thela in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.0% (73 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 Thela in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Thela a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Thela 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 Thela still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Thela 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 Thela 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 Thela?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.