Humanverse

Teller vs Telvin

American parents have registered 588 Telvins since 1880, against 290 Tellers. But in 2025 it was Teller that was commoner, 77 babies to fewer than five.

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Births per year: Teller against Telvin, 1880 to 2025 0 30 60 90 120 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Teller Telvin

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 32 years in which either name was published, Telvin for 20 years and Teller for 12 years. The lead changed hands once.

Side by side

  Teller Telvin
Total US births 290588
Most in one year 77105
Babies in 2025 77under 5
Estimated living today 290570
Median age today 231
Peak year 20251992
Best rank 2,091st boys1,068th boys
Rank in 2025 2,091stunranked
First recorded 20141977
Girls / boys 20 / 2700 / 588

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 Telvins alive today are over 31; half the Tellers are over 2. That is 29 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: Teller and Telvin.