The baby name Delia feels vintage and Victorian, but this name boasts ancient roots.
Thanks to Haley and Caroline for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
ANCIENT PLACE NAME
When names like Savannah and Brooklyn entered the US Top 1000, some called it a new trend. Except we’ve been naming our children after places for millennia.
The Greek island of Delos lies in the Aegean Sea. It means brilliant. Greek myth made Delos the birthplace of the twins Artemis and Apollo. Temples were built in their honor, and today the island and its ruins appear on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
The goddess Artemis sometimes answered to Delia, a reference to her birthplace. The goddess of the moon, a famous huntress, and more, she remains one of the best known figures from Greek mythology.
First century poet Tibullus composed works dedicated to Delia. In that case, the given name Delia appears to be a pseudonym for a (possibly married) woman he loved.
NORMAN CONQUEST
William the Conqueror brought an entire class of names to England, used in what would become the Anglo-Norman language, a dialect of Old Norman French the invaders brought with them to their new home. It changed and evolved over time, and with it, names.
Adelia doesn’t seem to appear specifically in the historical record. But two daughters of King William answered to Adel- names: Adeliza, or maybe Adelida, about whom little is known, and Adela, who became a countess through marriage, ended her days in a convent, and is now considered a saint.
There’s no question that Adel- names, like Adeline, were well-used throughout Europe, including England, for centuries.
RENAISSANCE and BEYOND
During the Renaissance, poet Samuel Daniel chose the ancient name for his idealized beloved. Maybe Daniel was inspired by the ancient poet.
Or perhaps Artemis, a perpetual maiden who protected mothers and children but swore to remain single herself, served as inspiration.
At some point, the name caught on. US Social Security birth records begin in 1880, when the name ranked its highest ever. It remained in the US Top 200 for another fifteen years.
Edith Wharton gave the name to a character. So did James Joyce.
There’s a controversial Shakespeare scholar named Delia Bacon who was, perhaps, the first person to suggest that someone other than the Bard wrote his plays.
During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, we find British composer Derbyshire, Italian ballerina Scalla, and Argentine actress Garces. The variety suggests sparing, but steady and global use of the baby name Delia.
DELIA’S GONE
Then the baby name Delia fell and fell and fell, leaving the Top 1000 entirely after 2007.
A song gives us one possible reason.
Johnny Cash recorded “Delia’s Gone.” He even made a video for the song in 1994, featuring Kate Moss. He wasn’t the first, either. Versions of the song have circulated for decades, with everyone from Cash to Bob Dylan to Pete Seeger covering it in one form or another. It
You would expect a song might boost a name, especially a name with this much appeal. But the lyrics tell a tragic tale.
On Christmas Day 1900, teenaged Moses Houston shot and killed his young girlfriend. Her name? Delia Green. Houston spent his life in a Georgia prison. His beloved became immortal.
As a result, this Greek girl name feels sweetly Southern, but also, perhaps, a bit mournful.
Songs about the tragedy date to at least the 1920s, and the name’s popularity clearly declines during the twentieth century. But is it all down to this sad story?
CELIA and DAHLIA
Except it might not have anything to do with the song.
Celia fell in use during the same time period. Other names ending in -elia also decline during the twentieth century: Shakespeare’s tragic Ophelia, ancient Cornelia, the British(ish) Cordelia, Adelia, and Odelia – possibly more.
The grand dame of girls’ names ending with ELIA? It’s Amelia, of course, that vintage favorite. Just like the rarer names, Amelia fell in use steadily most years into the 1970s. It didn’t really recover until the late 1990s/early twenty-first century.
Led by Amelia, many of these names have made a comeback in recent years. Some hibernated for so long that they feel like complete discoveries.
Speaking of discoveries, lush and romantic flower name Dahlia sounds vintage, but actually debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2006. It sounds very similar to Delia, so maybe that opens the door for Delia’s comeback, too.
Likewise, Biblical Delilah has never been more popular than it is today.
DELIA from the 90s to NOW
You might also think of:
- In the 90s, dELiA*s sold cute clothes in nearly every mall in America. It still sort-of-kind-of exists, but online only.
- Writer Delia Ephron is sister to Nora, Amy, and Hallie. A novelist and screenwriter, she’s worked on scripts for movies like You’ve Got Mail and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
- VC Andrews’ estate used the name for a character. She’s a Mexican teenager who moves in with her wealthy American relatives following her mother’s tragic death. More heartache follows.
- Characters by the name have appeared on Everwood, The Ghost Whisperer, and Call the Midwife.
- British TV chefDelia Smith has been a staple on the small screen, teaching basic cookery techniques for decades.
- Best-selling author Delia Owens has recently been in the headlines thanks to the adaptation of her novel, Where the Crawdads Sing … and her possible involvement in a real-life tragedy.
READY for REVIVAL
The baby name Delia seems poised for revival.
Some of it is the rise of Amelia/Delilah/Dahlia. Plus, ends with LIA names are having a moment.
But it’s also true that the 100-Year Rule suggests that any name big a century ago should sound fresh and new today.
The numbers aren’t there yet; 221 girls were named Delia in the year 2000. As of 2021, that number had continued to drop, reaching 146 girls given the first name Delia.
One good fictional character, celebrity birth announcement, or pop song could change that. But, for now, Delia remains an overlooked vintage charmer, rich in history, but seldom heard.
That might make it the perfect choice for parents seeking a feminine names with deep roots that fits in, while still standing out.
Would you consider the baby name Delia for a daughter?
Originally published on November 18, 2010, this post was revised and republished on May 3, 2017 and again on August 2, 2022.
“controversial American Shakespeare scholar” ? Now that I have to google.
She’s fascinating, Jillian! Apparently, she was one of the first scholars to suggest that Shakespeare might have had help writing his plays. I have a new widget that searches for photos based on what I type, and her picture came up. Here’s a longer bio.
I know — me, too!
I just went and read the wikipedia article about her — fascinating!
Oooh, and I just saw that Delos/Delia is derived from the word from brilliant. That would really work perfectly with Phoebe, which comes from bright/shining, wouldn’t it? Food for thought.
It sounds like Delia would be the perfect name for you, Caroline! Phoebe and Delia are lovely together.
As for whether I’d use it: Overall, I find Delia’s sound very pretty, but she seems kind of light in comparison to the other names I like. Funny, because I love Celia. It must just be that I don’t have any great namesakes in my experience of things to link her to. (I know there are some, but there aren’t any I’ve come across in my reading and studies, and I’ve realized I tend to like names with namesakes that I’VE been the one to discover — they mean more to me personally that way.) Because she doesn’t carry the weight of personal literary and historical references in my mind, she comes off to me as just a pretty sound.
I like Delia Eugenie, and agree with Emmy Jo. Out of all the names in the world, I might not choose that combo. But it is hard to resist the meaning!
The comment about Delia sounding like a maid’s name probably relates to Bedelia/Bridget and stereotypes about Irish immigrants.
Thanks for the write-up on Delia, Abby! I sort of evolved from Celia to Delia when I heard Cecilia picking up speed. And when I found out that Delia is tied to the Greek goddess of the moon, it seemed like a natural sister to Phoebe. I say it DEEL-ya, which I think is probably common to my southern accent.
We are still debating Delia vs. Blythe vs. Clementine. The only drawback is that we want to use Eugenie as a mn mash-up of DH’s grandparents Eugene and Jeannie, and Delia Eugenie doesn’t seem to flow quite right.
Incidentally, my mother said Delia sounds like ‘a maid’s name.’ Nice.
For what it’s worth, I think Delia Eugenie sounds just fine. Maybe not completely “ideal” if you were just coming up with nice sounding combos in a vacuum, but sometimes it’s more ideal to use the first name and middle name you love even if the flow is only 90% perfect instead of 100% perfect.
We’re having the same issue with the name we picked out for our first daughter (if we ever have one) — Clara Anneliese. I’m not so fond of how the “uh” at the end of Clara flows into the “a” in Anneliese. But Clara is our favorite girls’ name, and Anneliese incorporates both our mothers’ middle names, so using them both is more important to me that having perfect flow.
My mom said Clara sounds like an old lady’s name, but she eventually came around after hearing me talk about why I love it so much. I’m sure your mom will come around to Delia, too.
Love it, although I prefer the longer Cordelia. I’ve always said it as DEEL-YA, partially because dah-LEE-ah’s (spelled slightly differently, but still…) was a car dealership near my hometown.
I try to like it but I just can’t. Yesterday’s Cora is far my pleasant in my opinion. For some reason, with this name, I want to ask, “What’s the big delia?” No, I’m not trying to be clever, it’s just a phrase that came to my mind as soon as I saw this name listed. My favourite name-based-on-a-place is still Persis.
I pronounce the name DEE-lee-yuh. I’d never considered DEEL-yuh.
Insight! Stupid iPhone autocorrect.
I meant: any insight into Delia being used as an Irish nickname for Bridget?
I’m from Ireland and my real name is delia but my grandmother was named Bridget but she always went by delia because bridget is a variant of of brid and bedelia witch delia is also a nickname for
I have a great great aunt who immigrated here from Ireland. She went by Delia but her name was Bridget.
Actually I have two relatives going by Delia in my tree both born around the same time – nearly the turn of the century.
I read an old article once a long time ago (God help me find it now) that listed Delia as names associated with Irish immigrants. It is also used as an example here: https://www.ancestry.com/learn/library/article.aspx?article=10349
Any indict into this?
I’m guessing that’s because of Bedelia, which is somehow linked to Bridget, which is the quintessential Irish immigrant name. There must be more to the name’s evolution, but I don’t know for sure.
Delia is one I should like but can’t. It’s the place I get most of my pants! Delia is all catalogue to me, and then I think “Beetlejuice” (which dates me, I know) but still… nasty Delia there. I just cannot make myself even like Delia as a name for a child. I also doubt a charming little one could break the associations I have and make me like it. Just blah.
I would bet that over here in England, most people’s first thought when they hear Delia would be Delia Smith, the famous chef. She’s had loads of books out and has been on TV for 30+ years.
Her name has even entered the dictionary as a noun: https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1688790.stm
She pronounces her name DEEL-ee-yah and I think that’s how most people here would say it!
Delia Smith is my first association with the name too. Being an expat, when I want a traditional British recipe I check out her website. I remember my Mum using her books for cooking in the 80s. So I too pronounce the name with three syllables – Dee-lee-uh / Dee-lee-ah.
I did think about Delia briefly when we needed a girl’s name in 2005. It didn’t seem ‘exciting’ enough though and I wondered if my family in the UK would find the name too associated with Delia Smith.
Thanks, Cleeeo! I don’t really cook, so the chef has to be super famous for me to notice them – or, of course, they have to choose suggest intriguing names that I can’t help pay attention. But Delia seems like a great name for a chef!
Hi, I’m a Delia pronounced just as Delia Smith says her name. Dee Lee yah. I love my name. Lastly I don’t know the song ‘Delia’s Gone’ at all.
I’ve always adored Delia, which I pronounce as DEE-lee-uh [ˈdiːliːjuː]. I love it as a nickname for Cordelia. Problem is, I recently had a coworker/friend named Delia, pronounced DAY-lee-ah [ˈdeɪliːɑː]. Now I feel like I can’t use it.
Update: I only worked with/knew that Delia for four years. While I still do think of her when I see/hear the name, I don’t feel restricted from using it any longer. Cordelia with the short form Delia is now #4 on our list.
Oh, and for the record, I don’t know that song at all, but that’s probably because I don’t like Johnny Cash or Bob Dylan.