Althea
About Althea
Althea is a poetic, almost ethereal name found in Greek myth and pastoral poetry, associated in modern times with the great tennis player Althea Gibson, the first African-American to win at Wimbledon.
Althea appears in Greek mythology as the mother of the hero Meleager and was revived by the seventeenth-century poet Richard Lovelace as a poetic pseudonym for his beloved.
These days, parents would also appreciate the short form Thea.
Althea is the most common girl name in the Philippines.
Pronounced al-THEE-ah.
As of October 2026, Althea ranked #1299 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #356 in 1920, Nameberry popularity #358.
Editor: Sophie Kihm
Sources: US popularity data is from the Social Security Administration. Meanings and origins are from Nameberry's name references.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #2,098 | 92 | 51.5 |
| 2015 | #1,644 | 130 | 72.8 |
| 2016 | #1,668 | 128 | 72.2 |
| 2017 | #1,460 | 154 | 89.2 |
| 2018 | #1,385 | 162 | 95.2 |
| 2019 | #1,354 | 167 | 99.5 |
| 2020 | #1,398 | 156 | 96.5 |
| 2021 | #1,474 | 145 | 88.4 |
| 2022 | #1,342 | 175 | 106.7 |
| 2023 | #1,360 | 165 | 102.8 |
| 2024 | #1,396 | 160 | 98.8 |
| 2025 | #1,299 | 171 | 106.4 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Althea.
- Ariadne
- Cressida
- Cassia
- Isolde
- Thalia
- Calliope
- Isadora
- Rowena
- Odessa
- Oriana
- Praskovia
- Alethea
- Seraphina
- Selene
- Callista
- Seraphine
- Mauri
- Guinevere
- Cosima
- Ianthe
Althea on lists
Famous Altheas
- Althea Gibson
American tennis player
- Althea Harper
American fashion designer & former "Project Runway" contestant
- Althea Rae Janairo
birth name of Tia Carrere, American actress
- Althea Flynt
American wife and co,publisher of Hustler founder Larry Flynt
- Althea Gyles (born Margaret Alethea Gyles)
Irish poet
- Althea Isabelle Sophie de Ligne de la Trémoïlle (b. 2010)
daughter of actress Isabella Orsini & Prince Edouard de Ligne
Althea in pop culture
- Althea Gellar
Ross and Monica's grandmother on TV's 'Friends'
- Althea Tibbs
Virgil's wife on TV's 'In the Heat of the Night'
- Althea
main character in 'The Last Year' series by Trisha Leigh
- Althea Carter
main character in "Althea and Oliver" by Cristina Morocco
- Greek althaea = 'marsh mallow'
i.e. the bushy shrub which is noted for its healing powers. The Greek word derives from the verb althein 'to heal'.
- 'To Althea
from Prison," poem by Richard Lovelace
- 'Althea
' song by the Grateful Dead
- Althea
a character who appeared in "Hollow City", the second installment of Ransom Riggs' "Peculiar Children" series
- Althea
a character on "Fear the Walking Dead"
- Althea Vestrit
Protagonist of the "Liveship Traders" book series by Robin Hobb