Althea
From the Greek Althaia, connected to althos, a word for healing. Greek myth assigns it to the mother of the hero Meleager.
Althea in 2025
Althea was given to 171 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 2,451st most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 19,388 babies born.
The history of Althea
Althea reached its highest point in 1956, when 388 babies were given the name, ranking 846th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 649th, in 1891.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 17,985 babies have been named Althea. Half of them were born before 1952, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Baby Boomers.
Althea by decade
| Decade | Babies named Althea | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 156 | 749 |
| 1890s | 323 | 649 |
| 1900s | 496 | 681 |
| 1910s | 2,014 | 665 |
| 1920s | 2,596 | 677 |
| 1930s | 1,472 | 916 |
| 1940s | 1,275 | 964 |
| 1950s | 3,015 | 822 |
| 1960s | 1,791 | 1,151 |
| 1970s | 1,002 | 1,531 |
| 1980s | 592 | 2,283 |
| 1990s | 492 | 3,718 |
| 2000s | 627 | 3,898 |
| 2010s | 1,160 | 2,494 |
| 2020s | 974 | 2,451 |
Where Althea is heading
Althea has risen 32% over the past decade, from 130 babies in 2015 to 171 in 2025.
Names like Althea
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Althea.