Thelma

English novelist Marie Corelli coined the name for the heroine of her 1887 melodrama Thelma, likely adapting the Greek noun thelema, meaning will or desire. Corelli assumed the word was traditional Norwegian, though Scandinavian records show no trace of it prior to the novel. American readers bought the book in volume, and within thirty-five years the name had climbed into the national top thirty.

A Thelma reads today as someone who came of age when long-distance calls required an operator and a justification. The name suggests hard candies in cut glass, metal tins repurposed for sewing notions, and stubborn self-reliance. With an average living bearer now 75, the name rarely surfaces outside the company of cardigans and bridge scorecards. Its peak occurred in 1921, keeping its center of gravity anchored near screened porches and Plymouth sedans. The name does not suggest chaos; at most, it suggests a dispute over an electric blanket.