Thelma
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name originating as a coinage. A literary invention, first appeared in the Swedish novel Kyrkoinvigningen i Hammarby (1840-1841) by Emilie Flygare-Carlén, translated into English as "The Magic Goblet" (1845). Similar names of ambiguous origin, Elma, Selma, Velma, appeared in the 19th century. By folk etymology explained as Ancient Greek θέλημα (thélēma, “will”). Notice also the Spanish and Portuguese Telma, a rare feminine form of Telmo, ultimately from Santelmo or Saint Elmo.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Thelma (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Thelma has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2001. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | 58 |
| 2002 | 52 |
| 2003 | 26 |
| 2004 | 35 |
| 2005 | 25 |
| 2006 | 27 |
| 2007 | 30 |
| 2008 | 40 |
| 2009 | 33 |
| 2010 | 36 |
| 2011 | 40 |
| 2012 | 27 |
| 2013 | 34 |
| 2014 | 31 |
| 2015 | 35 |
| 2016 | 27 |
| 2017 | 26 |
| 2018 | 17 |
| 2019 | 25 |
| 2020 | 22 |
| 2021 | 22 |
| 2022 | 33 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 115 |
| 2000 | 121 |
| 2001 | 173 |
| 2002 | 221 |
| 2003 | 243 |
| 2004 | 277 |
| 2005 | 298 |
| 2006 | 320 |
| 2007 | 346 |
| 2008 | 386 |
| 2009 | 419 |
| 2010 | 457 |
| 2011 | 497 |
| 2012 | 517 |
| 2013 | 552 |
| 2014 | 581 |
| 2015 | 618 |
| 2016 | 642 |
| 2017 | 666 |
| 2018 | 684 |
| 2019 | 707 |
| 2020 | 734 |
Thelma in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Thelma.Hi! My name is Thelma.
- Thelma har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Thelma has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Vet du om Thelma kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Thelma is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Thelmas mamma är lärare.Thelma's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Thelmas mamma is Thelma's mum.
More names
Questions about Thelma
How do you pronounce Thelma in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Thelma in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Thelma mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name originating as a coinage. A literary invention, first appeared in the Swedish novel Kyrkoinvigningen i Hammarby (1840-1841) by Emilie Flygare-Carlén, translated into English as "The Magic Goblet" (1845). Similar names of ambiguous origin, Elma, Selma, Velma, appeared in the 19th century. By folk etymology explained as Ancient Greek θέλημα (thélēma, “will”). Notice also the Spanish and Portuguese Telma, a rare feminine form of Telmo, ultimately from Santelmo or Saint Elmo.
How popular is Thelma in Sweden?
33 babies were named Thelma in 2022. In 2020, 734 people in Sweden had Thelma as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2001 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.