Thelonius
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser", "Ruby, My Dear", "In Walked Bud", and "Well, You Needn't". As of 2009, Monk was the second-most-recorded jazz composer in history, after Duke Ellington.
- Various
Meaning & Origin of Thelonius
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser", "Ruby, My Dear", "In Walked Bud", and "Well, You Needn't". As of 2009, Monk was the second-most-recorded jazz composer in history, after Duke Ellington.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- Various
The Story of Thelonius
The earliest SSA record of Thelonius as a baby boy name dates back to 1972, when 5 babies received it. 2006 was its biggest year on record, with 6 newborns named Thelonius — #10,659 in the national rankings. About 29% of every Thelonius on record arrived during the 2000s, its defining decade. Thelonius last appeared in the published SSA data in 2013, with 5 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 21 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1970s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Thelonius
Phonetically similar names — useful when Thelonius is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
- Felonious
- Polonius
- Bolognaise
- Thalamus
- Colonia
- Mellowness
- Yellowness
- Colonus
- Apollonius
- Kolonia
- Silliness
- Hollowness
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Thelonius
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About the name Thelonius
Thelonius is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1972 and has accumulated 21 births in the dataset. Thelonius's peak popularity came in 2006 when it ranked #10,659. Use the chart and map above to compare Thelonius's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 2006 →
- Names of the 2000s →
- Names starting with "T" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.