Stella

What Stella means

Means “star”

From Latin stēlla (“star”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Stella” (revision 92190297), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Stella?

US: Steady: #51 in 2015, #52 now. England & Wales: Rising: up from #388 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1889, when 891 girls got the name (#55 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 389 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 1,948 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,278 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in RI (6.12 per 1,000 girls), CT (5.56 per 1,000 girls), AK (5.44 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Stella is #52 in the US and #333 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Stella were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Steely29 US
• Stela8 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Stella

Girls

• Lucy#24“light”^*
• Arabella#213Editor’s note Steady in the US: #194 in 2015 and #213 in 2025
• Liliana#78Form of Lilian, possibly meaning “lily”^*
• Harmony#276From the word “harmony”^*
• Lucille#237Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1920, with 7,989 babies; 1,314 in 2025
• Valentina#35Same root as Valentine, meaning “strong, healthy”^*

For a brother

• Atticus#281“the Attic, the Athenian, a cognomen”^*
• Titus#358“honorable”^*
• Lucas#10Editor’s note Up from #16 in 2015 to #10 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 170 US boys in the 2025 records
• Lucian#462Editor’s note Up from #633 in 2015 to #462 in 2025 in the US
• Julian#25“Roman personal name”^*
• Cassius#582Editor’s note Up from #644 in 2015 to #582 in 2025 in the US

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Latin, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Stella’s. Rank is US 2025.