Dela vs Delbert
American parents have registered 47,056 Delberts since 1880, against 565 Delas. But in 2025 it was Dela that was commoner, 19 babies to 12.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Dela Delbert
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 146 years in which either name was published, Delbert for 145 years and Dela for 1 year. The lead changed hands once.
Side by side
| Dela | Delbert | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 565 | 47,056 |
| Most in one year | 19 | 1,038 |
| Babies in 2025 | 19 | 12 |
| Estimated living today | 370 | 16,000 |
| Median age today | 36 | 67 |
| Peak year | 2025 | 1932 |
| Best rank | 6,116th girls | 151st boys |
| Rank in 2025 | 6,116th | 6,803rd |
| First recorded | 1888 | 1880 |
| Girls / boys | 560 / 5 | 126 / 46,930 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Delberts alive today are over 67; half the Delas are over 36. That is 31 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Dela and Delbert.