Holding steady.
Popularity of Delight since 1897
Babies named Delight per year in U.S. Social Security records. Raw births topped out in 1946, but relative to how few babies were recorded back then, Delight's real moment was 1902.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1890s | 5 |
| 1900s | 36 |
| 1910s | 100 |
| 1920s | 172 |
| 1930s | 177 |
| 1940s | 160 |
| 1950s | 160 |
| 1960s | 72 |
| 1970s | 63 |
| 1980s | 34 |
| 1990s | 8 |
| 2000s | 5 |
| 2010s | 39 |
| 2020s | 20 |
Meaning & origin
Delight is a rare word name that saw its most notable use in the early 20th century. It first appeared in U.S. records in 1897 and reached its peak in 1902, when it was given to a handful of baby girls. Since then, its usage has been extremely sporadic, with no recorded births in recent decades. The name belongs to a category of virtuous and uplifting word names that were popular among 19th-century Puritans and Victorians, yet it never achieved the popularity of similar names like Joy or Grace. Today, it remains a curiosity for parents seeking an unusual and directly positive meaning. The name's trajectory is stable, meaning it has not seen a revival in modern times.
Delight is a word name derived from the Old French 'delit' (later respelled to align with 'light'), ultimately from Latin 'delectare' meaning to charm or please. It was occasionally used as a given name in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in the United States, reflecting the Puritan tradition of adopting virtue names and the Victorian fondness for uplifting word names.
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Dee, Lite
Sibling names for Delight
Names that share Delight's style, for a brother or sister.
