Telly

Last seen for girls in 1978 at #6,948 · Last seen for boys in 2024 at #12,349
Given to boys 94.9% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
1974 · 294 births
Debut · boys
5 births
In top 100 · boys
never
of 146 years
Total births · boys
1,527
since 1967

Telly over time

girlsboys

Rank within each sex, plotted together. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100#1,000#10,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201974peak #468, 1974girlsat peakboys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025——
2024—#12,3495
2023——
2022——
2021—#12,1465
2020—#7,03411
2019——
2018——
2017—#8,1409
2016—#10,7446
2015—#7,49110
2014—#9,6427
2013—#9,6557
2012—#8,1589
2011—#5,94514
2010—#12,2315
2009—#9,8647
2008—#9,8717
2007—#8,1739
2006—#6,46012
2005—#5,03416
2004—#8,1438
2003—#6,71510
2002—#4,91915
2001—#4,12119
2000—#3,42324
1999—#5,03513
1998—#3,39022
1997—#3,26122
1996—#4,61313
1995—#3,55918
1994—#3,75117
1993—#3,50118
1992—#6,1288
1991—#8,2365
1990—#5,3829
1989—#6,9416
1988——
1987——
1986—#4,4579
1985—#3,59912
1984—#3,92510
1983—#2,91215
1982—#2,59618
1981—#2,56918
1980—#2,28422
1979—#2,10424
1978#6,9488#1,14959
1977#5,21312#732136
1976#4,61413#562207
1975#3,51419#480277
1974#3,55818#468294
1973#6,6667#1,31240
1972—#3,9637
1971——
1970——
1969#7,4715—
1968—#3,1078
1967—#3,9665
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First appearance
1967

The first year at least five boys were named Telly! It came in at #3,966, and was given to 5 baby boys.


Quietest stretch: 1969–1971, when fewer than 5 boys a year got the name.

Where Telly is popular in 1974

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedAKMaine: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedMEVermont: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedVTNew Hampshire: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedNHWashington: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedWAIdaho: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedIDMontana: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedMTNorth Dakota: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedNDMinnesota: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedMNIllinois: #342 for boys · 25 births · 1 in 3,131 boysILWisconsin: #313 for boys · 7 births · 1 in 4,393 boysWIMichigan: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedMINew York: #630 for boys · 12 births · 1 in 9,527 boysNYMassachusetts: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedMARhode Island: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedRIOregon: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedORNevada: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedNVWyoming: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedWYSouth Dakota: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedSDIowa: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedIAIndiana: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedINOhio: #374 for boys · 15 births · 1 in 5,192 boysOHPennsylvania: #611 for boys · 5 births · 1 in 14,665 boysPANew Jersey: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedNJConnecticut: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedCTCalifornia: #1,009 for boys · 7 births · 1 in 21,473 boysCAUtah: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedUTColorado: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedCONebraska: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedNEMissouri: #315 for boys · 10 births · 1 in 3,373 boysMOKentucky: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedKYWest Virginia: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedWVVirginia: #356 for boys · 8 births · 1 in 3,917 boysVAMaryland: #278 for boys · 7 births · 1 in 2,974 boysMDDelaware: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedDEArizona: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedAZNew Mexico: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedNMKansas: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedKSArkansas: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedARTennessee: #289 for boys · 12 births · 1 in 2,602 boysTNNorth Carolina: #238 for boys · 23 births · 1 in 1,687 boysNCSouth Carolina: #217 for boys · 15 births · 1 in 1,388 boysSCDistrict of Columbia: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedDCOklahoma: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedOKLouisiana: #260 for boys · 19 births · 1 in 1,551 boysLAMississippi: #272 for boys · 11 births · 1 in 1,697 boysMSAlabama: #284 for boys · 12 births · 1 in 2,202 boysALGeorgia: #204 for boys · 30 births · 1 in 1,270 boysGAHawaii: fewer than 5 boys named Telly, so not publishedHITexas: #815 for boys · 8 births · 1 in 13,211 boysTXFlorida: #267 for boys · 25 births · 1 in 2,026 boysFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · boys
  1. Georgia#204 · 1 in 1,270
  2. South Carolina#217 · 1 in 1,388
  3. North Carolina#238 · 1 in 1,687
  4. Louisiana#260 · 1 in 1,551
  5. Florida#267 · 1 in 2,026

Best ever in a state: #151 in South Carolina, 1975.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
Georgia#204301 in 1,270
South Carolina#217151 in 1,388
North Carolina#238231 in 1,687
Louisiana#260191 in 1,551
Florida#267251 in 2,026
Mississippi#272111 in 1,697
Maryland#27871 in 2,974
Alabama#284121 in 2,202
Tennessee#289121 in 2,602
Wisconsin#31371 in 4,393
Missouri#315101 in 3,373
Illinois#342251 in 3,131
Virginia#35681 in 3,917
Ohio#374151 in 5,192
Pennsylvania#61151 in 14,665
New York#630121 in 9,527
Texas#81581 in 13,211
California#1,00971 in 21,473
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Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the boys born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.

See more about Telly
Momentum · boys
Faded out
  • Not published in 2025; last seen 2024
  • Biggest jump: 844 spots in 1974 (#1,312 → #468)
  • Biggest drop: 417 spots in 1978 (#732 → #1,149)
Rise & fade · boys
7 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1967
  • Peaked 1974 at #468 (294 births)
  • Births halved by 1977, 3 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 1,000 for 4 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: never
  • Top 1,000: 4 yrs · run 1974–1977
Share of babies · boys
1 in 5,348
  • Highest: 1 in 5,348 boys born in 1974 were named Telly (0.02%)
  • Latest: 1 in 344,578 boys born in 2024 (0.00%)
Era · boys
The 1970s
  • 68.4% of all boys named Telly (1,044) were born in this decade
Girls or boys?
Flipped in 1972
  • Mostly girls until 1971, mostly boys since
all girlsall boys
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1960s13#3,107 (1968)#3,537
1970s1,044#468 (1974)#1,346
1980s110#2,284 (1980)#3,660
1990s145#3,261 (1997)#4,686
2000s127#3,423 (2000)#6,672
2010s67#5,945 (2011)#9,001
2020s21#7,034 (2020)#10,510

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Telly in 1974

girls
#3,558
18 births · 1 in 81,530 girls
boys
#468
294 births · 1 in 5,348 boys

Top girls' names in 1974

  1. #1Jennifer63,107
  2. #2Amy29,566
  3. #3Michelle25,826
  4. #4Heather23,179
  5. #5Angela22,803
  6. #6Kimberly22,427
  7. #7Melissa22,166
  8. #8Lisa19,778
  9. #9Stephanie16,984
  10. #10Rebecca15,163
  11. #3,558Telly18

Top boys' names in 1974

  1. #1Michael67,534
  2. #2Jason54,756
  3. #3Christopher48,585
  4. #4David41,786
  5. #5James41,334
  6. #6John37,612
  7. #7Robert37,005
  8. #8Brian34,449
  9. #9Matthew27,194
  10. #10William26,980
  11. #468Telly294
More about 1974

girls

1,467,534 girls got a published name in 1974; 1 in 81,530 of them was named Telly, which outranked 65.3% of the 10,247 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 17.8% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Telly
  1. #3,426Yevette19
  2. #3,426Yolando19
  3. #3,426Yvonda19
  4. #3,558Telly18
  5. #3,558Adelle18
  6. #3,558Albertina18
  7. #3,558Angelika18
  8. #3,695Abena17
  9. #3,695Amita17
  10. #3,695Andree17

Tied with 136 names at #3,558; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1973
Risers
  1. ↑ 6,440Nakia#6,666 → #226
  2. ↑ 5,329Nikia#6,080 → #751
  3. ↑ 1,994Luciana#2,914 → #920
  4. ↑ 1,556Cortney#2,349 → #793
  5. ↑ 1,213Nia#1,885 → #672
Fallers
  1. ↓ 1,251Contina#962 → #2,213
  2. ↓ 396Pam#990 → #1,386
  3. ↓ 376Tracee#536 → #912
  4. ↓ 364Cher#760 → #1,124
  5. ↓ 314Richard#904 → #1,218

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

1,572,334 boys got a published name in 1974; 1 in 5,348 of them was named Telly, which outranked 92.2% of the 6,004 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 26.5% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Telly
  1. #465Darius297
  2. #465Rex297
  3. #467Moses295
  4. #468Telly294
  5. #468Hugh294
  6. #470Dallas291
  7. #471Darrick288
  8. #472Elijah287

Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1973
Risers
  1. ↑ 3,544Rashad#4,505 → #961
  2. ↑ 844Telly#1,312 → #468
  3. ↑ 398Jabari#1,312 → #914
  4. ↑ 356Ahmad#1,123 → #767
  5. ↑ 356Toma#1,238 → #882
Fallers
  1. ↓ 383Parrish#987 → #1,370
  2. ↓ 378Fredric#957 → #1,335
  3. ↓ 346Jory#753 → #1,099
  4. ↓ 301Vidal#834 → #1,135
  5. ↓ 277Pat#847 → #1,124

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1974 →