girl's name
Althea
- Origin Greek
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 19,307
Althea is a girl's name with 3 syllables. In 2025 it was given to 171 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
- Althea is a name of Greek origin.
- Peaked in 1956, when 388 babies were given the name.
- After peaking in the 1950s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
- Today about 1 in 19,388 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Althea over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 156 |
| 1890s | 323 |
| 1900s | 496 |
| 1910s | 2,014 |
| 1920s | 2,596 |
| 1930s | 1,472 |
| 1940s | 1,275 |
| 1950s | 3,015 |
| 1960s | 1,791 |
| 1970s | 1,002 |
| 1980s | 592 |
| 1990s | 492 |
| 2000s | 627 |
| 2010s | 1,160 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 974 |
How popular is Althea?
In 2025, Althea was given to 171 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Althea is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Althea is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Althéa | Althéa is Althea written with an acute accent in France, and the spelling parents there overwhelmingly choose: it ranks #1,012 in France, against #6,175 for Althea. | 205 |
Names that peaked alongside Althea
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Althea also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Althea over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Althea in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Althea
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Althea — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Althea
How popular is the name Althea?
In 2025, Althea was given to 171 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Is Althea a girl's or a boy's name?
Althea is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Althea?
Althea has 3 syllables.
When was Althea most popular?
Althea peaked in 1956, when 388 babies were given the name. After peaking in the 1950s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
Is Althea a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Althea currently ranks #1,012 in the United States. After peaking in the 1950s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.