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Gender: Female Origin of Thelma: Literary invention for a Norwegian character

Thelma Origin and Meaning

The name Thelma is a girl's name of Norwegian origin.

Though most parents seeking to honor an ancestor named Thelma, would choose Thea instead, Thelma might have some funky appeal. It was extremely rare until British writer Marie Corelli used it for the Norwegian heroine of her eponymous novel in 1893. Thelma was the birth name of First Lady Nancy Reagan.

16 names similar to Thelma

These 16 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Thelma. If you didn't find an alternative name that you like better than Thelma, try our name generator. It allows you to go beyond the similarities of a name, which can provide a lot of inspiration!

Find other names based on Thelma using our baby name generator.

Lists containing Thelma

Thelma in Blog Posts

Popularity

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Famous People Named Thelma

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Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon, First Lady of the U.S.
Thelma Ritter, American actress
Thelma Colbert Schoonmaker, American film editor
Thelma Alice Todd, American '30s actress
Thelma Ellen Wood, American sculptor
Thelma Houston, American singer
Thelma "Butterfly" McQueen, American actress

Pop Culture References for the name Thelma

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Thelma Yvonne Dickinson, character in "Thelma and Louise"
Thelma Bates, character on "Hex"
Thelma Bloggs, character in "What a Misfortune" & "Draff"
Thelma Mae Harper, character on "Mama's Family"
Thelma "Tib" Muller, character in "Betsy-Tacy" series
Thelma "Trixie" Norton, character on "The Honeymooners"
Thelma Evans, character on TV's "Good Times"
Thelma Lou, character on "Andy Griffith" series
Thelma, character in "The Last Time I Saw Mother" by Arlene J. Chai, adoptive mother of main character Caridad

Nicknames & Variations for Thelma

Telma, Thellma

Comments

Renee5322 Says:

2020-02-16T23:13:59

Nancy Reagan was actually born Anne Frances. It was Pat Nixon who was originally Thelma Catherine.

rubylark Says:

2018-08-19T04:56:48

I love this name! I might even name a daughter for the nickname Tib haha. Both Thelma and Tib are super pretty to me, and even better if you've read the books.

Eliane Says:

2017-12-24T15:47:22

Agree! Can totally hurt your feelings if you love a name a lot.

Claire78 Says:

2017-03-26T08:35:25

I really don't like this name! It is, to me, a very heavy, masculine-sounding name. When I picture it I imagine a very large, stout woman or a very masculine-looking woman.

paulapuddephatt Says:

2017-03-06T23:40:22

I think Thelma is super cute. I agree that Thea is awesome, but I don't think the description about Thelma was particularly helpful. If you love the name and would like to use it, go for it. It's a great choice.

Wittyusername103 Says:

2016-07-16T23:25:01

Thelma is lovely. Nameberry needs to stop putting their opinions in the descriptions.

OPTP Says:

2016-04-16T02:15:56

Wayyy better. And I love Thea, but I prefer Thelma.

Zoey_Artemisia Says:

2014-11-03T01:18:01

Still better than Velma.