girls' name ★ peaked 1957

Delia

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #1,561 Trend → Stable

Delia is a feminine given name either taken from an epithet of the Greek moon goddess Artemis, or else representing a short form of Adelia, Bedelia, Cordelia or Odelia.

Rank 2025
#1,561
among girls · ↓49 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
135
named Delia · -6% vs 2024
How common
1 in 11,906
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1957
490 babies
All-time total
37,380
#722 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Delia popularity over time

37,380 babies have been named Delia since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.511.5218801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 1,546 – 1,546 155 – #126
1890s 1,871 – 1,871 187 +21% #172
1900s 1,629 – 1,629 163 -13% #207
1910s 2,360 – 2,360 236 +45% #303
1920s 2,829 5 2,834 283 +20% #385
1930s 2,853 23 2,876 288 +1% #344
1940s 3,213 10 3,223 322 +12% #388
1950s 4,589 6 4,595 460 +43% #389
1960s 3,856 – 3,856 386 -16% #445
1970s 2,976 10 2,986 299 -23% #538
1980s 2,213 8 2,221 222 -26% #639
1990s 2,191 – 2,191 219 -1% #809
2000s 2,346 – 2,346 235 +7% #946
2010s 1,973 – 1,973 197 -16% #1,007
2020s (to 2025) 873 – 873 146 -26% #1,344

Where Delia is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 133 0.08 outside top 500
2027 132 0.08 outside top 500
2028 131 0.08 outside top 500
2029 130 0.08 outside top 500
2030 129 0.08 outside top 500

Where Delia is most popular

Girls named Delia per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.087 per 1,000. Strongest in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Illinois.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Delia born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
New Hampshire 5 0.271 +210%
Massachusetts 29 0.240 +174%
Illinois 37 0.162 +85%
Texas 75 0.093 +7%
New Jersey 16 0.089 ≈ national
California 74 0.088 ≈ national
Connecticut 5 0.086 ≈ national
New York 34 0.086 ≈ national
North Carolina 18 0.079 -10%
Florida 26 0.061 -30%
Michigan 11 0.060 -31%
Virginia 10 0.059 -33%
Maryland 6 0.057 -35%
Minnesota 6 0.056 -36%
Pennsylvania 12 0.051 -42%
Wisconsin 5 0.049 -44%
Colorado 5 0.045 -49%
Tennessee 6 0.038 -57%
Arizona 5 0.036 -59%
Indiana 5 0.036 -59%
Washington 5 0.035 -60%
Ohio 5 0.021 -76%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Maine – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Delia

Delia is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #1,561 in 2025 with 135 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 37,380 American babies have been named Delia. Its peak came in 1957, when 490 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1950s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Delia stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Delia?

The median living Delia is about 52 years old; half are between 28 and 68. An estimated 23 thousand people named Delia are alive in the United States today.

median 52 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Delia year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 135 #1,561 – –
2024 143 #1,512 – –
2023 154 #1,447 – –
2022 130 #1,624 – –
2021 147 #1,463 – –
2020 164 #1,344 – –
2019 152 #1,454 – –
2018 161 #1,395 – –
2017 171 #1,355 – –
2016 183 #1,308 – –
2015 197 #1,240 – –
2014 217 #1,149 – –
2013 178 #1,319 – –
2012 219 #1,126 – –
2011 250 #1,007 – –
2010 245 #1,021 – –
2009 227 #1,116 – –
2008 229 #1,127 – –
2007 272 #986 – –
2006 238 #1,069 – –
2005 261 #947 – –
2004 247 #970 – –
2003 248 #946 – –
2002 198 #1,073 – –
2001 205 #1,047 – –
2000 221 #959 – –
1995 217 #879 – –
1990 246 #809 – –
1985 185 #867 – –
1980 285 #639 – –
1975 271 #595 – –
1970 327 #560 5 #4,872
1965 363 #497 – –
1960 478 #445 – –
1955 465 #405 – –
1950 402 #399 – –
1945 271 #436 – –
1940 256 #426 5 #3,565
1935 265 #397 7 #3,023
1930 294 #397 – –
1925 272 #417 – –
1920 282 #393 – –
1915 280 #358 – –
1910 149 #314 – –
1905 171 #244 – –
1900 231 #207 – –
1895 193 #195 – –
1890 197 #172 – –
1885 155 #146 – –
1880 129 #126 – –

Famous people named Delia

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Delia Derbyshire Delia Derbyshire English musician and composer of electronic music (1937–2001) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Delia, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Delia?

The median living Delia is about 52 years old. Half of all living Delias are between 28 and 68 years old.

How many people named Delia are alive today?

An estimated 23 thousand people named Delia are alive in the United States, based on 37,380 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Delia mean?

Delia is a feminine given name either taken from an epithet of the Greek moon goddess Artemis, or else representing a short form of Adelia, Bedelia, Cordelia or Odelia.

How popular is the name Delia in 2025?

Delia ranked #1,561 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 135 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Delia?

37,380 babies have been named Delia in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Delia most popular?

Delia peaked in 1957, when 490 newborns received the name.

Is Delia a boy or girl name?

Delia is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Delia rising or falling?

Delia is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Delia become more popular?

Delia looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 129 girls named Delia in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Delia?

Well-known people named Delia include Delia Derbyshire (musician).

Names like Delia

Names that sound and feel close to Delia: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Delia with similar names → More names starting with D →