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
- Peak · boys
- 1974 · 294 births
- Debut · boys
- 5 births
- In top 100 · boys
- neverof 146 years
- Total births · boys
- 1,527since 1967
Telly over time
Rank within each sex, plotted together. Click any year to open it.
Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.
Show data table
| Year | girls | boys | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| rank | births | rank | births | |
| 2025 | — | — | ||
| 2024 | — | #12,349 | 5 | |
| 2023 | — | — | ||
| 2022 | — | — | ||
| 2021 | — | #12,146 | 5 | |
| 2020 | — | #7,034 | 11 | |
| 2019 | — | — | ||
| 2018 | — | — | ||
| 2017 | — | #8,140 | 9 | |
| 2016 | — | #10,744 | 6 | |
| 2015 | — | #7,491 | 10 | |
| 2014 | — | #9,642 | 7 | |
| 2013 | — | #9,655 | 7 | |
| 2012 | — | #8,158 | 9 | |
| 2011 | — | #5,945 | 14 | |
| 2010 | — | #12,231 | 5 | |
| 2009 | — | #9,864 | 7 | |
| 2008 | — | #9,871 | 7 | |
| 2007 | — | #8,173 | 9 | |
| 2006 | — | #6,460 | 12 | |
| 2005 | — | #5,034 | 16 | |
| 2004 | — | #8,143 | 8 | |
| 2003 | — | #6,715 | 10 | |
| 2002 | — | #4,919 | 15 | |
| 2001 | — | #4,121 | 19 | |
| 2000 | — | #3,423 | 24 | |
| 1999 | — | #5,035 | 13 | |
| 1998 | — | #3,390 | 22 | |
| 1997 | — | #3,261 | 22 | |
| 1996 | — | #4,613 | 13 | |
| 1995 | — | #3,559 | 18 | |
| 1994 | — | #3,751 | 17 | |
| 1993 | — | #3,501 | 18 | |
| 1992 | — | #6,128 | 8 | |
| 1991 | — | #8,236 | 5 | |
| 1990 | — | #5,382 | 9 | |
| 1989 | — | #6,941 | 6 | |
| 1988 | — | — | ||
| 1987 | — | — | ||
| 1986 | — | #4,457 | 9 | |
| 1985 | — | #3,599 | 12 | |
| 1984 | — | #3,925 | 10 | |
| 1983 | — | #2,912 | 15 | |
| 1982 | — | #2,596 | 18 | |
| 1981 | — | #2,569 | 18 | |
| 1980 | — | #2,284 | 22 | |
| 1979 | — | #2,104 | 24 | |
| 1978 | #6,948 | 8 | #1,149 | 59 |
| 1977 | #5,213 | 12 | #732 | 136 |
| 1976 | #4,614 | 13 | #562 | 207 |
| 1975 | #3,514 | 19 | #480 | 277 |
| 1974 | #3,558 | 18 | #468 | 294 |
| 1973 | #6,666 | 7 | #1,312 | 40 |
| 1972 | — | #3,963 | 7 | |
| 1971 | — | — | ||
| 1970 | — | — | ||
| 1969 | #7,471 | 5 | — | |
| 1968 | — | #3,107 | 8 | |
| 1967 | — | #3,966 | 5 | |
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| 1880 | — | — | ||
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 1978
- Rank in state
- Top 10
- 11–50
- 51–100
- 101–500
- 501+
- Not published
Hover or tap a state for its numbers.
- Georgia#342 · 1 in 2,905
- South Carolina#430 · 1 in 4,093
Best ever in a state: #151 in South Carolina, 1975.
Show every state
| State | Rank | Births | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | #342 | 13 | 1 in 2,905 |
| South Carolina | #430 | 5 | 1 in 4,093 |
| Alabama | — | — | — |
| Alaska | — | — | — |
| Arizona | — | — | — |
| Arkansas | — | — | — |
| California | — | — | — |
| Colorado | — | — | — |
| Connecticut | — | — | — |
| Delaware | — | — | — |
| District of Columbia | — | — | — |
| Florida | — | — | — |
| Hawaii | — | — | — |
| Idaho | — | — | — |
| Illinois | — | — | — |
| Indiana | — | — | — |
| Iowa | — | — | — |
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| Louisiana | — | — | — |
| Maine | — | — | — |
| Maryland | — | — | — |
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| Wyoming | — | — | — |
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
- 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)
- Debuted 1967
- Peaked 1974 at #468 (294 births)
- Births halved by 1977, 3 yrs later
- Top 10: never
- Top 100: never
- Top 1,000: 4 yrs · run 1974–1977
- 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%)
- 68.4% of all boys named Telly (1,044) were born in this decade
- Mostly girls until 1971, mostly boys since
Show by decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank | Avg rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 13 | #3,107 (1968) | #3,537 |
| 1970s | 1,044 | #468 (1974) | #1,346 |
| 1980s | 110 | #2,284 (1980) | #3,660 |
| 1990s | 145 | #3,261 (1997) | #4,686 |
| 2000s | 127 | #3,423 (2000) | #6,672 |
| 2010s | 67 | #5,945 (2011) | #9,001 |
| 2020s | 21 | #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 1978
Top girls' names in 1978
Top boys' names in 1978
More about 1978
girls
1,531,859 girls got a published name in 1978; 1 in 191,482 of them was named Telly, which outranked 39.5% of the 11,475 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 16.5% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).
boys
1,641,837 boys got a published name in 1978; 1 in 27,828 of them was named Telly, which outranked 83.0% of the 6,762 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 24.6% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).
- #1,134Royal60
- #1,134Samson60
- #1,134Shedrick60
- #1,149Telly59
- #1,149Benson59
- #1,149Brenden59
- #1,149Che59
- #1,170Demetrios58
- #1,170Enrico58
- #1,170Jessy58
Tied with 20 names at #1,149; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.
Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.