Lelia
Lelia was given to 17 girls in 2025, #6,709 among girls’ names; 15,645 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 4,420 Americans named Lelia and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (28% of everyone recorded); the median is 65 years old and half are between 36 and 78.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Lelia by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Lelia mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Lelia is “a female given name.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Lelia?
#6,709 among girls’ names, 2025
Lelia fell from #3,892 in 2015 to #6,709 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 21.8 to 10.6 per million.
316 babies in 1919, the peak
Lelia peaked in 1919, when 316 girls were given it, #359 among girls’ names. The 17 births of 2025 are 5% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 17 | #6,709 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 22 | #5,717 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 33 | #4,323 | 0.02 |
| 2022 | 29 | #4,733 | 0.02 |
| 2021 | 33 | #4,287 | 0.02 |
| 2020 | 37 | #3,881 | 0.02 |
| 2019 | 24 | #5,388 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 40 | #3,766 | 0.02 |
| 2017 | 30 | #4,646 | 0.02 |
| 2016 | 34 | #4,310 | 0.02 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 39 | #3,892 | 0.02 |
| 2014 | 25 | #5,387 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 36 | #4,129 | 0.02 |
| 2012 | 39 | #3,963 | 0.02 |
| 2011 | 41 | #3,759 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 39 | #3,927 | 0.02 |
| 2009 | 31 | #4,755 | 0.02 |
| 2008 | 36 | #4,322 | 0.02 |
| 2007 | 33 | #4,525 | 0.02 |
| 2006 | 43 | #3,652 | 0.02 |
| 2005 | 39 | #3,774 | 0.02 |
| 2004 | 38 | #3,782 | 0.02 |
| 2003 | 44 | #3,321 | 0.02 |
| 2002 | 26 | #4,698 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 30 | #4,148 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 33 | #3,834 | 0.02 |
| 1999 | 29 | #4,026 | 0.02 |
| 1998 | 26 | #4,312 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 27 | #4,074 | 0.02 |
| 1996 | 20 | #4,968 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 18 | #5,335 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 15 | #6,180 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 27 | #3,936 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 31 | #3,543 | 0.02 |
| 1991 | 31 | #3,489 | 0.02 |
| 1990 | 28 | #3,761 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 28 | #3,616 | 0.02 |
| 1988 | 29 | #3,352 | 0.02 |
| 1987 | 23 | #3,803 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 34 | #2,813 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 34 | #2,775 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 34 | #2,704 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 32 | #2,753 | 0.02 |
| 1982 | 32 | #2,871 | 0.02 |
| 1981 | 24 | #3,494 | 0.01 |
| 1980 | 30 | #2,965 | 0.02 |
| 1979 | 34 | #2,649 | 0.02 |
| 1978 | 28 | #2,905 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 38 | #2,358 | 0.02 |
| 1976 | 29 | #2,695 | 0.02 |
| 1975 | 38 | #2,220 | 0.03 |
| 1974 | 37 | #2,196 | 0.03 |
| 1973 | 37 | #2,152 | 0.03 |
| 1972 | 39 | #2,040 | 0.03 |
| 1971 | 31 | #2,450 | 0.02 |
| 1970 | 48 | #1,847 | 0.03 |
| 1969 | 38 | #2,040 | 0.02 |
| 1968 | 49 | #1,663 | 0.03 |
| 1967 | 45 | #1,716 | 0.03 |
| 1966 | 60 | #1,421 | 0.04 |
| 1965 | 66 | #1,359 | 0.04 |
| 1964 | 79 | #1,242 | 0.04 |
| 1963 | 75 | #1,273 | 0.04 |
| 1962 | 78 | #1,254 | 0.04 |
| 1961 | 93 | #1,139 | 0.05 |
| 1960 | 104 | #1,054 | 0.05 |
| 1959 | 93 | #1,110 | 0.05 |
| 1958 | 96 | #1,070 | 0.05 |
| 1957 | 116 | #960 | 0.06 |
| 1956 | 96 | #1,045 | 0.05 |
| 1955 | 124 | #873 | 0.06 |
| 1954 | 118 | #883 | 0.06 |
| 1953 | 124 | #831 | 0.07 |
| 1952 | 112 | #872 | 0.06 |
| 1951 | 127 | #790 | 0.07 |
| 1950 | 111 | #828 | 0.06 |
| 1949 | 156 | #665 | 0.09 |
| 1948 | 139 | #710 | 0.08 |
| 1947 | 139 | #722 | 0.08 |
| 1946 | 145 | #661 | 0.09 |
| 1945 | 123 | #666 | 0.09 |
| 1944 | 134 | #634 | 0.10 |
| 1943 | 147 | #626 | 0.11 |
| 1942 | 134 | #645 | 0.10 |
| 1941 | 170 | #543 | 0.14 |
| 1940 | 152 | #563 | 0.13 |
| 1939 | 154 | #535 | 0.14 |
| 1938 | 160 | #539 | 0.14 |
| 1937 | 149 | #549 | 0.14 |
| 1936 | 146 | #540 | 0.14 |
| 1935 | 169 | #485 | 0.16 |
| 1934 | 159 | #510 | 0.15 |
| 1933 | 170 | #487 | 0.17 |
| 1932 | 193 | #476 | 0.18 |
| 1931 | 175 | #488 | 0.16 |
| 1930 | 199 | #475 | 0.18 |
| 1929 | 188 | #491 | 0.17 |
| 1928 | 241 | #436 | 0.21 |
| 1927 | 241 | #446 | 0.20 |
| 1926 | 272 | #412 | 0.23 |
| 1925 | 295 | #397 | 0.24 |
| 1924 | 304 | #393 | 0.24 |
| 1923 | 287 | #394 | 0.24 |
| 1922 | 295 | #380 | 0.25 |
| 1921 | 289 | #399 | 0.23 |
| 1920 | 276 | #397 | 0.23 |
| 1919 | 316 | #359 | 0.28 |
| 1918 | 308 | #372 | 0.27 |
| 1917 | 273 | #383 | 0.25 |
| 1916 | 265 | #387 | 0.25 |
| 1915 | 272 | #363 | 0.28 |
| 1914 | 226 | #352 | 0.30 |
| 1913 | 165 | #376 | 0.26 |
| 1912 | 186 | #333 | 0.33 |
| 1911 | 159 | #314 | 0.38 |
| 1910 | 138 | #333 | 0.35 |
| 1909 | 142 | #304 | 0.41 |
| 1908 | 141 | #298 | 0.42 |
| 1907 | 141 | #295 | 0.44 |
| 1906 | 124 | #300 | 0.42 |
| 1905 | 139 | #281 | 0.48 |
| 1904 | 156 | #251 | 0.57 |
| 1903 | 149 | #247 | 0.57 |
| 1902 | 140 | #265 | 0.53 |
| 1901 | 138 | #245 | 0.58 |
| 1900 | 206 | #216 | 0.69 |
| 1899 | 148 | #226 | 0.64 |
| 1898 | 149 | #241 | 0.58 |
| 1897 | 152 | #222 | 0.65 |
| 1896 | 153 | #222 | 0.64 |
| 1895 | 157 | #218 | 0.67 |
| 1894 | 146 | #220 | 0.65 |
| 1893 | 133 | #228 | 0.62 |
| 1892 | 171 | #193 | 0.81 |
| 1891 | 141 | #191 | 0.76 |
| 1890 | 137 | #203 | 0.72 |
| 1889 | 131 | #202 | 0.73 |
| 1888 | 128 | #199 | 0.72 |
| 1887 | 102 | #202 | 0.70 |
| 1886 | 102 | #196 | 0.71 |
| 1885 | 104 | #184 | 0.78 |
| 1884 | 102 | #177 | 0.79 |
| 1883 | 84 | #181 | 0.75 |
| 1882 | 95 | #164 | 0.88 |
| 1881 | 74 | #176 | 0.80 |
| 1880 | 65 | #188 | 0.71 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Lelia a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Lelia has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 146 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Lelia: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Lelia, and how old are they?
4,420 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 28% of the 15,645 Americans ever recorded as Lelia. The median Lelia alive today is 65 years old; half are between 36 and 78.
The 2020 Census counted 4,819 people named Lelia (4,808 women and girls, 11 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 5,132 born in the U.S. The Census count is 6% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 807 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,620 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 597 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 427 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 548 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 397 |
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 Lelia born?
The states with the most babies named Lelia are Virginia, Georgia and North Carolina, with 34% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Virginia is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia | 1,260 | not ranked | 4.2× |
| Georgia | 727 | not ranked | 2.0× |
| North Carolina | 670 | not ranked | 1.7× |
| Louisiana | 612 | not ranked | 2.5× |
| Alabama | 609 | not ranked | 2.0× |
| Texas | 530 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| South Carolina | 431 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Kentucky | 398 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Mississippi | 313 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Tennessee | 241 | not ranked | 0.8× |
Where Lelia is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Lelia is most over-represented in Virginia: since 1910 it was given 4.2 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 Lelia 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 210,701 babies since 1880, Lelia is the sixth most given (7.4% of them). In 2025 it was given to 17 of their 3,310 babies (<1%), the eighth most given that year.
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 Lelia
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 Lelia and names like it
- Compare Lelia and LeilaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sLelia peaked in 1919.
- Virginia’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Lelia since 1910.
- The top names of 1919The year the most babies were named Lelia.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Lelia alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with LMost given first.