Revision History

loadingDate    Editor    Change Summary
5/29/2020, 9:30 PM Mike C update #108
11/16/2019, 11:04 AM Mike C update #105
2/28/2019, 2:08 PM Mike C update #102
12/8/2017, 12:41 PM Mike C update #97
2/12/2007, 1:03 AM Mike C earliest recorded revision

Gender Feminine
Usage English
Pronounced Pron. THEHL-mə

Meaning & History

Meaning unknown. It was a rare name when British author Marie Corelli used it for the Norwegian heroine of her novel Thelma (1887). The name became popular around the end of the 19th century after the novel was published. It is sometimes claimed to derive from Greek θέλημα (thelema) meaning "will", though this seems unlikely.