Given name
Thekla
“glory of God”
Thekla is a variant of Tekla. One Greek interpretation is “glory of God.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Thekla is a variant of Tekla. One Greek interpretation is “glory of God.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Thekla is a romanization of ⲑⲉⲕⲗⲁ. ⲑⲉⲕⲗⲁ comes from Coptic, and ultimately from Koine Greek.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1882. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Thekla through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 296
- 0 boys · 296 girls
- Most popular year
- 1890
- 14 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 6 in 2021. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 14 in 1890. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 196 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Thekla’s family of names
Thekla has a related form in Tekla. In Danish usage, Thekla has a conventional equivalent in the Polish form Tekla. In German usage, Thekla has a conventional equivalent in the English form Thecla.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Thekla has relatives in 5 languages.
4 related names in 5 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 7
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Thekla
- Thecla1st-century saint100–100
- Thekla ResvollNorwegian botanist (1871-1948)
- TheklaByzantine empress, wife of Michael II701–823
- Thekla ReutenDutch actress (born 1975)
- Thekladaughter of Theophilos825–900
- Thekla Brun-LieNorwegian biathleteborn 1992
- TheklaFemale Japanese professional wrestlerborn 1993
- Thekla Carola WiedGerman actressborn 1944
- Thekla KnösSwedish writer1815–1880
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Thekla, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.