Fun Facts About the Name Delilah
- A newer favorite: Delilah first entered the U.S. top 100 in 2018 and stayed there through 2025 - a run of 8 consecutive years.
- More than 66 thousand babies named Delilah: U.S. records list 66,644 babies given the name Delilah from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Delilah Mean?
Delilah is a Hebrew name usually explained as meaning "weak" or "delicate." The Hebrew form is דְּלִילָה (Delilah). It is often connected with Hebrew roots such as דלל (dalal), "to be low, weak," or דל (dal), "poor, weak." The exact derivation is not certain. In the biblical story, Delilah causes Samson to lose his strength, and later interpretation sometimes reads her name as "she who weakened [him]" or treats it as a symbol of betrayal; that is a symbolic reading of the narrative, not a separate established etymology. The similar-looking Arabic name دليلة (Dalila) means "guide" or "evidence" from a different root, and the English names Delia and Dahlia are unrelated.
Delilah Name History & Origins
The name Delilah appears in the Hebrew Bible in the Book of Judges, chapter 16. She is a woman from the Valley of Sorek whom Samson loves. Philistine leaders pay her to discover the source of his strength. After three false answers, Samson tells her that his uncut hair is the sign of his Nazirite dedication; she has his hair cut while he sleeps, and the Philistines capture him. The Hebrew text gives her name as דְּלִילָה.
The name passed into other languages through Bible translation. The Greek Septuagint uses Δαλιδά (Dalida), and the Latin Vulgate uses Dalila. English translations, including the King James Version of 1611, use Delilah. The Latin form Dalila remains common in Romance languages.
Later works have kept the name in circulation. John Milton's Samson Agonistes (1671) includes Delilah as a character who visits Samson in prison. Camille Saint-Saëns's opera Samson et Dalila (1877) uses the French form Dalila for the same figure. A 1968 song by Tom Jones, "Delilah," uses the name for a woman in a story of jealousy and violence.
How Popular is the Name Delilah?
Delilah recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2024. Delilah entered the top 100 U.S. girl names in 2018.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #51 | 4,137 | 0.2574% |
| 2024 | #50 | 4,240 | 0.2628% |
| 2023 | #52 | 4,045 | 0.2524% |
| 2022 | #58 | 3,871 | 0.2362% |
| 2021 | #58 | 3,759 | 0.2292% |
| 2020 | #70 | 3,420 | 0.2117% |
| 2019 | #88 | 3,156 | 0.1881% |
| 2018 | #92 | 3,011 | 0.1771% |
| 2017 | #102 | 2,897 | 0.1679% |
| 2016 | #115 | 2,742 | 0.1548% |
| 2015 | #116 | 2,739 | 0.1535% |
| 2014 | #130 | 2,513 | 0.1407% |
| 2013 | #135 | 2,345 | 0.1337% |
| 2012 | #154 | 2,096 | 0.1190% |
| 2011 | #171 | 1,837 | 0.1044% |
| 2010 | #187 | 1,671 | 0.0940% |
| 2009 | #190 | 1,705 | 0.0928% |
| 2008 | #193 | 1,741 | 0.0921% |
| 2007 | #297 | 1,136 | 0.0591% |
| 2006 | #547 | 539 | 0.0284% |
| 2005 | #585 | 487 | 0.0264% |
| 2004 | #595 | 473 | 0.0258% |
| 2003 | #611 | 438 | 0.0240% |
| 2002 | #706 | 354 | 0.0197% |
| 2001 | #664 | 379 | 0.0210% |
| 2000 | #674 | 358 | 0.0197% |
| 1999 | #649 | 355 | 0.0200% |
| 1998 | #871 | 242 | 0.0137% |
| 1997 | #895 | 225 | 0.0129% |
| 1996 | #1,142 | 159 | 0.0091% |
| 1995 | #1,133 | 155 | 0.0088% |
| 1994 | #1,279 | 133 | 0.0074% |
| 1993 | #1,251 | 138 | 0.0076% |
| 1992 | #1,315 | 128 | 0.0069% |
| 1991 | #1,164 | 151 | 0.0081% |
| 1990 | #1,229 | 136 | 0.0072% |
| 1989 | #1,093 | 153 | 0.0083% |
| 1988 | #902 | 192 | 0.0108% |
| 1987 | #800 | 219 | 0.0126% |
| 1986 | #889 | 185 | 0.0108% |
| 1985 | #732 | 236 | 0.0137% |
| 1984 | #728 | 225 | 0.0134% |
| 1983 | #677 | 252 | 0.0151% |
| 1982 | #938 | 159 | 0.0094% |
| 1981 | #1,158 | 115 | 0.0069% |
| 1980 | #940 | 159 | 0.0096% |
| 1979 | #806 | 196 | 0.0122% |
| 1978 | #919 | 154 | 0.0101% |
| 1977 | #927 | 151 | 0.0098% |
| 1976 | #942 | 136 | 0.0093% |
| 1975 | #953 | 132 | 0.0091% |
| 1974 | #881 | 147 | 0.0100% |
| 1973 | #837 | 156 | 0.0107% |
| 1972 | #1,090 | 104 | 0.0068% |
| 1971 | #968 | 131 | 0.0079% |
| 1970 | #814 | 170 | 0.0097% |
| 1969 | #1,177 | 90 | 0.0053% |
| 1968 | #1,479 | 59 | 0.0036% |
| 1967 | #1,543 | 53 | 0.0032% |
| 1966 | #1,774 | 41 | 0.0024% |
| 1965 | #1,520 | 54 | 0.0031% |
| 1964 | #1,383 | 66 | 0.0035% |
| 1963 | #1,228 | 80 | 0.0042% |
| 1962 | #1,025 | 110 | 0.0056% |
| 1961 | #1,057 | 108 | 0.0054% |
| 1960 | #879 | 140 | 0.0069% |
| 1959 | #1,001 | 111 | 0.0055% |
| 1958 | #893 | 131 | 0.0065% |
| 1957 | #806 | 158 | 0.0077% |
| 1956 | #739 | 172 | 0.0086% |
| 1955 | #792 | 148 | 0.0076% |
| 1954 | #739 | 156 | 0.0080% |
| 1953 | #607 | 214 | 0.0114% |
| 1952 | #574 | 228 | 0.0123% |
| 1951 | #640 | 184 | 0.0102% |
| 1950 | #756 | 131 | 0.0076% |
| 1949 | #904 | 96 | 0.0056% |
| 1948 | #916 | 90 | 0.0053% |
| 1947 | #1,217 | 55 | 0.0031% |
| 1946 | #1,192 | 52 | 0.0033% |
| 1945 | #1,176 | 45 | 0.0034% |
| 1944 | #989 | 62 | 0.0047% |
| 1943 | #884 | 78 | 0.0056% |
| 1942 | #632 | 142 | 0.0105% |
| 1941 | #809 | 80 | 0.0066% |
| 1940 | #1,153 | 40 | 0.0035% |
| 1939 | #1,134 | 41 | 0.0037% |
| 1938 | #1,034 | 48 | 0.0044% |
| 1937 | #930 | 55 | 0.0052% |
| 1936 | #902 | 57 | 0.0055% |
| 1935 | #867 | 63 | 0.0060% |
| 1934 | #949 | 53 | 0.0051% |
| 1933 | #924 | 54 | 0.0054% |
| 1932 | #979 | 52 | 0.0049% |
| 1931 | #953 | 53 | 0.0050% |
| 1930 | #919 | 63 | 0.0056% |
| 1929 | #994 | 53 | 0.0047% |
| 1928 | #970 | 59 | 0.0051% |
| 1927 | #1,130 | 46 | 0.0039% |
| 1926 | #836 | 77 | 0.0065% |
| 1925 | #1,076 | 50 | 0.0041% |
| 1924 | #895 | 71 | 0.0057% |
| 1923 | #918 | 64 | 0.0053% |
| 1922 | #953 | 61 | 0.0051% |
| 1921 | #946 | 61 | 0.0049% |
| 1920 | #917 | 63 | 0.0053% |
| 1919 | #878 | 64 | 0.0057% |
| 1918 | #849 | 72 | 0.0062% |
| 1917 | #880 | 62 | 0.0057% |
| 1916 | #843 | 65 | 0.0062% |
| 1915 | #918 | 52 | 0.0053% |
| 1914 | #832 | 50 | 0.0066% |
| 1913 | #751 | 49 | 0.0078% |
| 1912 | #874 | 33 | 0.0059% |
| 1911 | #880 | 24 | 0.0057% |
| 1910 | #781 | 30 | 0.0076% |
| 1909 | #749 | 29 | 0.0084% |
| 1908 | #854 | 21 | 0.0063% |
| 1907 | #1,156 | 12 | 0.0038% |
| 1906 | #1,009 | 14 | 0.0047% |
| 1905 | #784 | 22 | 0.0075% |
| 1904 | #810 | 20 | 0.0073% |
| 1903 | #816 | 18 | 0.0069% |
| 1902 | #740 | 22 | 0.0083% |
| 1901 | #835 | 16 | 0.0067% |
| 1900 | #808 | 21 | 0.0070% |
| 1899 | #631 | 24 | 0.0103% |
| 1898 | #613 | 28 | 0.0108% |
| 1897 | #797 | 16 | 0.0068% |
| 1896 | #764 | 18 | 0.0076% |
| 1895 | #823 | 15 | 0.0064% |
| 1894 | #646 | 21 | 0.0094% |
| 1893 | #668 | 19 | 0.0089% |
| 1892 | #645 | 20 | 0.0094% |
| 1891 | #486 | 28 | 0.0151% |
| 1890 | #583 | 20 | 0.0105% |
| 1889 | #574 | 20 | 0.0112% |
| 1888 | #579 | 19 | 0.0106% |
| 1887 | #613 | 14 | 0.0096% |
| 1886 | #576 | 15 | 0.0104% |
| 1885 | #635 | 12 | 0.0090% |
| 1884 | #507 | 17 | 0.0132% |
| 1883 | #592 | 11 | 0.0098% |
| 1882 | #602 | 10 | 0.0093% |
| 1881 | #546 | 10 | 0.0109% |
| 1880 | #554 | 10 | 0.0110% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
Explore Name Lists Featuring Delilah
Carl appears in several baby name collections based on U.S. popularity records, naming trends, and name characteristics. Explore these lists to discover other names with similar histories, styles, or features.
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How the Name Delilah Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are strong in material matters, determined and stubborn. You have good business ability. You are a good worker, steady and practical, a builder who takes responsibility well. These qualities may bring you a position of authority and power. You are a doer, down-to-earth, serious-minded, reliable, and self-disciplined; have good power of concentration. You have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.
You find the best contentment in life when you own your own home and provide well for your family and loved ones. You have a great sense of responsibility and duty. You are comforting, appreciative and affectionate. Your obligation in life is to hold justice and truth, and if you follow the Law, you can find the great happiness and satisfaction.
✦ Delilah's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Delilah's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.