Althea
Althea was given to 171 girls in 2025, #1,299 among girls’ names; 17,985 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 9,750 Americans named Althea and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (54% of everyone recorded); the median is 57 years old and half are between 22 and 70.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Althea by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Althea mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Althea is “a female given name from Ancient Greek.”
From Althaia or Althaea of Greek mythology, from Ancient Greek Ἀλθαία (Althaía).
/ælˈθi.ə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Althea?
#1,299 among girls’ names, 2025
Althea rose from #1,644 in 2015 to #1,299 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.07 to 0.11 per 1,000.
388 babies in 1956, the peak
Althea peaked in 1956, when 388 girls were given it, #474 among girls’ names. The 171 births of 2025 are 44% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 171 | #1,299 | 0.11 |
| 2024 | 160 | #1,398 | 0.10 |
| 2023 | 167 | #1,348 | 0.10 |
| 2022 | 175 | #1,343 | 0.11 |
| 2021 | 145 | #1,476 | 0.09 |
| 2020 | 156 | #1,399 | 0.10 |
| 2019 | 167 | #1,355 | 0.10 |
| 2018 | 162 | #1,386 | 0.10 |
| 2017 | 154 | #1,460 | 0.09 |
| 2016 | 128 | #1,668 | 0.07 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 130 | #1,644 | 0.07 |
| 2014 | 92 | #2,098 | 0.05 |
| 2013 | 101 | #1,955 | 0.06 |
| 2012 | 73 | #2,497 | 0.04 |
| 2011 | 72 | #2,510 | 0.04 |
| 2010 | 81 | #2,342 | 0.05 |
| 2009 | 75 | #2,510 | 0.04 |
| 2008 | 59 | #2,958 | 0.03 |
| 2007 | 57 | #3,051 | 0.03 |
| 2006 | 57 | #2,978 | 0.03 |
| 2005 | 68 | #2,523 | 0.04 |
| 2004 | 66 | #2,523 | 0.04 |
| 2003 | 69 | #2,391 | 0.04 |
| 2002 | 55 | #2,741 | 0.03 |
| 2001 | 53 | #2,763 | 0.03 |
| 2000 | 68 | #2,276 | 0.04 |
| 1999 | 61 | #2,402 | 0.03 |
| 1998 | 58 | #2,396 | 0.03 |
| 1997 | 51 | #2,512 | 0.03 |
| 1996 | 47 | #2,626 | 0.03 |
| 1995 | 40 | #2,929 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 39 | #2,984 | 0.02 |
| 1993 | 51 | #2,447 | 0.03 |
| 1992 | 40 | #2,916 | 0.02 |
| 1991 | 50 | #2,480 | 0.03 |
| 1990 | 55 | #2,285 | 0.03 |
| 1989 | 70 | #1,868 | 0.04 |
| 1988 | 55 | #2,088 | 0.03 |
| 1987 | 47 | #2,274 | 0.03 |
| 1986 | 50 | #2,116 | 0.03 |
| 1985 | 44 | #2,282 | 0.03 |
| 1984 | 70 | #1,593 | 0.04 |
| 1983 | 49 | #2,046 | 0.03 |
| 1982 | 50 | #2,051 | 0.03 |
| 1981 | 88 | #1,396 | 0.05 |
| 1980 | 69 | #1,658 | 0.04 |
| 1979 | 70 | #1,605 | 0.04 |
| 1978 | 64 | #1,654 | 0.04 |
| 1977 | 77 | #1,440 | 0.05 |
| 1976 | 83 | #1,307 | 0.06 |
| 1975 | 76 | #1,381 | 0.05 |
| 1974 | 106 | #1,094 | 0.07 |
| 1973 | 95 | #1,151 | 0.07 |
| 1972 | 142 | #888 | 0.09 |
| 1971 | 139 | #931 | 0.08 |
| 1970 | 150 | #884 | 0.09 |
| 1969 | 155 | #826 | 0.09 |
| 1968 | 202 | #684 | 0.12 |
| 1967 | 211 | #659 | 0.13 |
| 1966 | 164 | #765 | 0.10 |
| 1965 | 213 | #674 | 0.12 |
| 1964 | 149 | #854 | 0.08 |
| 1963 | 133 | #912 | 0.07 |
| 1962 | 161 | #825 | 0.08 |
| 1961 | 187 | #761 | 0.09 |
| 1960 | 216 | #692 | 0.11 |
| 1959 | 217 | #681 | 0.11 |
| 1958 | 278 | #595 | 0.14 |
| 1957 | 352 | #509 | 0.17 |
| 1956 | 388 | #474 | 0.19 |
| 1955 | 248 | #579 | 0.13 |
| 1954 | 308 | #505 | 0.16 |
| 1953 | 254 | #545 | 0.14 |
| 1952 | 328 | #464 | 0.18 |
| 1951 | 333 | #454 | 0.18 |
| 1950 | 309 | #461 | 0.18 |
| 1949 | 235 | #544 | 0.14 |
| 1948 | 126 | #760 | 0.07 |
| 1947 | 118 | #802 | 0.07 |
| 1946 | 125 | #723 | 0.08 |
| 1945 | 110 | #713 | 0.08 |
| 1944 | 111 | #715 | 0.08 |
| 1943 | 115 | #718 | 0.08 |
| 1942 | 116 | #689 | 0.09 |
| 1941 | 118 | #652 | 0.10 |
| 1940 | 101 | #693 | 0.09 |
| 1939 | 113 | #643 | 0.10 |
| 1938 | 119 | #629 | 0.11 |
| 1937 | 148 | #551 | 0.14 |
| 1936 | 124 | #593 | 0.12 |
| 1935 | 141 | #540 | 0.13 |
| 1934 | 165 | #501 | 0.16 |
| 1933 | 163 | #501 | 0.16 |
| 1932 | 164 | #510 | 0.15 |
| 1931 | 160 | #517 | 0.15 |
| 1930 | 175 | #506 | 0.16 |
| 1929 | 198 | #480 | 0.18 |
| 1928 | 196 | #492 | 0.17 |
| 1927 | 263 | #425 | 0.22 |
| 1926 | 226 | #449 | 0.19 |
| 1925 | 258 | #428 | 0.21 |
| 1924 | 275 | #421 | 0.22 |
| 1923 | 254 | #421 | 0.21 |
| 1922 | 274 | #399 | 0.23 |
| 1921 | 311 | #379 | 0.25 |
| 1920 | 336 | #356 | 0.28 |
| 1919 | 261 | #399 | 0.23 |
| 1918 | 318 | #363 | 0.27 |
| 1917 | 265 | #388 | 0.25 |
| 1916 | 265 | #386 | 0.25 |
| 1915 | 266 | #368 | 0.27 |
| 1914 | 199 | #378 | 0.26 |
| 1913 | 141 | #416 | 0.23 |
| 1912 | 131 | #404 | 0.23 |
| 1911 | 77 | #468 | 0.18 |
| 1910 | 91 | #412 | 0.23 |
| 1909 | 75 | #426 | 0.22 |
| 1908 | 66 | #444 | 0.20 |
| 1907 | 48 | #517 | 0.15 |
| 1906 | 53 | #465 | 0.18 |
| 1905 | 46 | #497 | 0.16 |
| 1904 | 46 | #484 | 0.17 |
| 1903 | 49 | #457 | 0.19 |
| 1902 | 41 | #492 | 0.16 |
| 1901 | 37 | #499 | 0.15 |
| 1900 | 35 | #590 | 0.12 |
| 1899 | 41 | #456 | 0.18 |
| 1898 | 33 | #555 | 0.13 |
| 1897 | 29 | #555 | 0.12 |
| 1896 | 36 | #487 | 0.15 |
| 1895 | 32 | #520 | 0.14 |
| 1894 | 42 | #430 | 0.19 |
| 1893 | 23 | #594 | 0.11 |
| 1892 | 29 | #503 | 0.14 |
| 1891 | 39 | #395 | 0.21 |
| 1890 | 19 | #600 | 0.10 |
| 1889 | 30 | #441 | 0.17 |
| 1888 | 21 | #550 | 0.12 |
| 1887 | 18 | #525 | 0.12 |
| 1886 | 19 | #509 | 0.13 |
| 1885 | 14 | #576 | 0.11 |
| 1884 | 13 | #584 | 0.10 |
| 1883 | 13 | #537 | 0.12 |
| 1882 | 11 | #561 | 0.10 |
| 1881 | 8 | #625 | 0.09 |
| 1880 | 9 | #581 | 0.10 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Althea a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Althea has been given almost only to girls: 5 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Althea: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Althea, and how old are they?
9,750 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 54% of the 17,985 Americans ever recorded as Althea. The median Althea alive today is 57 years old; half are between 22 and 70.
The 2020 Census counted 10,948 people named Althea (10,919 women and girls, 29 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 9,790 born in the U.S. The Census count is 12% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 665 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 3,470 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,850 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 821 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,010 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,900 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Althea born?
The states with the most babies named Althea are New York, Pennsylvania and Louisiana, with 35% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Louisiana is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 1,567 | #1,317 | 1.1× |
| Pennsylvania | 1,425 | #1,118 | 1.3× |
| Louisiana | 978 | not ranked | 2.8× |
| California | 809 | #1,496 | 0.6× |
| Illinois | 583 | #1,120 | 0.7× |
| Florida | 577 | #2,172 | 1.3× |
| Massachusetts | 545 | #632 | 1.1× |
| Ohio | 431 | #714 | 0.5× |
| Michigan | 400 | #863 | 0.6× |
| New Jersey | 390 | not ranked | 0.8× |
Where Althea is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Althea is most over-represented in Maine: since 1910 it was given 3.1 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Althea with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 37,029 babies since 1880, Althea is the most given (49% of them). In 2025 it was given to 171 of their 292 babies (59%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Althea
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Althea and names like it
- Compare Althea and AlethaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sAlthea peaked in 1956.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Althea since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Althea: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1956The year the most babies were named Althea.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Althea alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with AMost given first.