Delta
Feminine · “fourth letter”
Delta is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 4,368 girls against 108 boys since 1880.
Delta is the fourth Greek letter, and the river delta is named after its triangular shape — Herodotus made the comparison first.
How old is the name Delta?
Delta first appears in US birth records in 1883 — 142 years ago. The typical Delta alive today was born around 1956, making them about 69 years old. About 2,600 people named Delta are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Delta most popular?
Delta peaked in 1893, reaching #713 nationally. Today it ranks #2326, 1,613 places below that high. See the whole 1893 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From daleth to Delta
The story of Delta
Herodotus looked at the Nile's mouth, saw the shape of a capital delta, and named it — one of the few geographical terms with a traceable inventor. The letter itself comes from a Phoenician sign for a door. Delta appears in American records as a given name in current use.
Meaning
fourth letter; river mouth
From the Greek delta, borrowed from the Phoenician daleth, 'door'. Herodotus called the triangular mouth of the Nile a delta after the letter's shape, and the geographical term followed. The etymology is documented and the coinage attributable.
How the name formed
- daleth
- delta
- Delta
Related forms: Δέλτα · Dalet
Pronouncing Delta
DEL-tuh
Two syllables, stress on the first. Said identically in every English accent.
Nicknames for Delta
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1883
- Most girls named
- 2019136 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #713reached in 1893
- Change vs 2022
- +20.0%78 in 2025, from 65
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Delta in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Δέλτα in Greek — transliteration
- Dalet in Hebrew — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas.
Deltas among us
people named Delta are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 20,606 born in 2025 was named Delta
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Delta sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Delta is headed
Delta should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Delta beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Delta in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That Herodotus named the river delta after a letter is a first-rate fact.
- That the letter descends from a Phoenician sign for a door is a genuinely good detail.
- Dell and Dee are two short forms, both with real records.
- An airline is a strong American association.
- It is a letter name rather than a personal name.
- The Mississippi Delta is a strong regional association.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Delta to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Delta
Feminine · #2326 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Deltas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,600 people named Delta are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Delta in 2025?
- Delta ranks #2326 among US girl names in 2025, with 78 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Delta?
- About 1 in every 20,606 US girls born in 2025 was named Delta — 78 in all.
- Will my child share the name Delta with classmates?
- Delta will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Delta
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Malaika#2326 · Sitara#2326 · Ria#2326 · Azalia#2326 · Tommie#2326 · Audrina#2326 · Caitlin#2326 · Aris#2326
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Delta? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Delta and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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