Humanverse

Telia vs Teller

American parents have registered 709 Telias since 1880, against 290 Tellers. But in 2025 it was Teller that was commoner, 77 babies to 8.

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Births per year: Telia against Teller, 1880 to 2025 0 20 40 60 80 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Telia Teller

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 65 years in which either name was published, Telia for 54 years and Teller for 11 years. The lead changed hands once.

Side by side

  Telia Teller
Total US births 709290
Most in one year 3477
Babies in 2025 877
Estimated living today 680290
Median age today 322
Peak year 19842025
Best rank 2,677th girls2,091st boys
Rank in 2025 10,917th2,091st
First recorded 19212014
Girls / boys 709 / 020 / 270

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 Telias alive today are over 32; half the Tellers are over 2. That is 30 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: Telia and Teller.