Thelonious

Latinized variation of German Tillman, “one who plows the earth”

Thelonious Origin and Meaning

The name Thelonious is a boy's name.

One of the coolest of names, thanks to legendary jazz pianist Thelonious Sphere Monk, who inherited this Latin-sounding German name from his father. It has been used very sparingly since the 1960's, with just a sprinkling of baby boys receiving the name each year, though it's one of the unique baby names we predict will get much less unique as more parents embrace its quirky charms.

Monk's middle name Sphere is pretty unique too, a cousin of Cosmos and Cosmo.

Thelonious Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 1073 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Thelonious

• 1073 Nameberry 2025

20 Names Similar to Thelonious

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Thelonious.

• Ichabod
• Cosimo
• Thelonius
• Zebulon
• Beowulf
• Othello
• Ollivander
• Argus
• Nestor
• Tybalt
• Rosario
• Faust
• Rasmus
• Ludovico
• Bran
• Rollo
• Florent
• Absalom
• Camille
• Phoebus

Famous People Named Thelonious

• Thelonious Sphere Monk American jazz pianist and composer

The name Thelonious in Pop Culture

• Thelonious Jaha character on "The 100"
• Thelonious Jagger "TJ" Kippen character on "Andi Mack"