Thelma
Girl nameThelma has been given to 226,602 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It peaked in 1921.
Meaning & origin
A literary invention, first appeared in the Swedish novel Kyrkoinvigningen i Hammarby (1840-1841) by Emilie Flygare-Carlén, translated into English as "The Magic Goblet" (1845). Similar names of ambiguous origin, Elma, Selma, Velma, appeared in the 19th century. By folk etymology explained as Ancient Greek θέλημα (thélēma, “will”). Notice also the Spanish and Portuguese Telma, a rare feminine form of Telmo, ultimately from Santelmo or Saint Elmo.
Origin: coinages
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025
Total babies
226,602
Peak year
1921 (7,871 babies)
Rank in 2025
Below top 1000
First recorded
1880
10-year trend
▲ +7%
Gender split
99% girls / 1% boys
Famous people named Thelma
Pat Nixon
First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974
Thelma Ritter
American actress and vaudevillian (1902-1969)
Thelma Schoonmaker
American film editor
Thelma Todd
American actress (1906-1935)
Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).
Names with a similar vibe
Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Thelma.
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