Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 1921

Thelma

Meaning A female given name originating as a coinage Gender Girl · 1% boys Rank 2025 #4,745 Trend ↑ Rising 13%

A female given name originating as a coinage.

Rank 2025
#4,745
among girls · ↓369 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
29
named Thelma · -12% vs 2024
How common
1 in 55,423
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1921
7,871 babies
All-time total
226,602
#178 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Thelma popularity over time

226,602 babies have been named Thelma 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
2.557.51018801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 76 – 76 8 – #531
1890s 2,385 11 2,396 240 +3053% #78
1900s 18,265 79 18,344 1,834 +666% #26
1910s 57,011 273 57,284 5,728 +212% #25
1920s 68,767 334 69,101 6,910 +21% #30
1930s 36,254 276 36,530 3,653 -47% #45
1940s 20,229 104 20,333 2,033 -44% #101
1950s 11,776 36 11,812 1,181 -42% #187
1960s 5,894 29 5,923 592 -50% #326
1970s 2,158 – 2,158 216 -64% #607
1980s 1,170 – 1,170 117 -46% #970
1990s 687 – 687 69 -41% #1,632
2000s 379 – 379 38 -45% #2,632
2010s 239 – 239 24 -37% #4,523
2020s (to 2025) 170 – 170 28 +19% #4,376

Where Thelma 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 30 0.02 outside top 500
2027 30 0.02 outside top 500
2028 31 0.02 outside top 500
2029 31 0.02 outside top 500
2030 32 0.02 outside top 500

The story of Thelma

Thelma is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #4,745 in 2025 with 29 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 226,602 American babies have been named Thelma. Its peak came in 1921, when 7,871 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1920s.

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 Thelma stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Thelma?

The median living Thelma is about 78 years old; half are between 67 and 86. An estimated 44 thousand people named Thelma are alive in the United States today.

median 78 020406080100

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

Thelma 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 29 #4,745 – –
2024 33 #4,376 – –
2023 23 #5,536 – –
2022 26 #5,162 – –
2021 32 #4,403 – –
2020 27 #4,867 – –
2019 22 #5,781 – –
2018 27 #4,997 – –
2017 26 #5,177 – –
2016 32 #4,523 – –
2015 27 #5,114 – –
2014 25 #5,441 – –
2013 19 #6,705 – –
2012 27 #5,242 – –
2011 14 #8,584 – –
2010 20 #6,609 – –
2009 35 #4,361 – –
2008 30 #4,999 – –
2007 28 #5,218 – –
2006 34 #4,355 – –
2005 42 #3,579 – –
2004 31 #4,486 – –
2003 40 #3,584 – –
2002 31 #4,173 – –
2001 58 #2,632 – –
2000 50 #2,901 – –
1995 79 #1,817 – –
1990 92 #1,632 – –
1985 101 #1,322 – –
1980 148 #994 – –
1975 198 #737 – –
1970 274 #623 – –
1965 579 #380 – –
1960 835 #326 7 #3,631
1955 1,105 #246 11 #2,540
1950 1,458 #187 – –
1945 1,853 #131 5 #3,731
1940 2,461 #101 11 #2,307
1935 3,190 #76 32 #1,191
1930 5,250 #45 34 #1,231
1925 6,823 #35 41 #1,106
1920 7,814 #31 32 #1,297
1915 6,762 #30 28 #1,260
1910 2,976 #25 17 #751
1905 1,945 #36 10 #833
1900 1,094 #73 – –
1895 173 #205 – –
1890 22 #568 – –
1885 – – – –
1880 5 #936 – –

Famous people named Thelma

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

  1. 1 Thelma Ritter Thelma Ritter American actress (1902–1969) Contemporary
  2. 2 Thelma Todd Thelma Todd American actress (1906–1935) Contemporary
  3. 3 Thelma Schoonmaker Thelma Schoonmaker American film editor (born 1940) Contemporary
  4. 4 Thelma Houston Thelma Houston American singer (born 1943) b. 1946 · Contemporary
  5. 5 Thelma Coyne Long Thelma Coyne Long Australian tennis player (1918–2015) Contemporary
  6. 6 Thelma Hopkins Thelma Hopkins Northern Irish athlete (1936–2025) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Thelma?

The median living Thelma is about 78 years old. Half of all living Thelmas are between 67 and 86 years old.

How many people named Thelma are alive today?

An estimated 44 thousand people named Thelma are alive in the United States, based on 226,602 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Thelma mean?

A female given name originating as a coinage.

How popular is the name Thelma in 2025?

Thelma ranked #4,745 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 29 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Thelma?

226,602 babies have been named Thelma in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Thelma most popular?

Thelma peaked in 1921, when 7,871 newborns received the name.

Is Thelma a boy or girl name?

Thelma is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Thelma rising or falling?

Thelma is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Thelma become more popular?

Thelma is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 32 girls named Thelma in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Thelma?

Well-known people named Thelma include Thelma Ritter (actor), Thelma Todd (actor), Thelma Schoonmaker (politician).

Names like Thelma

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

Compare Thelma with similar names → More names starting with T →