girl's name

Nella

  • Origin Norse
  • Gender Girl
  • Syllables 2
  • Letters 5
  • Popularity Uncommon
  • Births on record 6,594

Northern Ireland

#549

2019 births

Nella is a girl's name with 2 syllables. In 2025 it was given to 60 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

  • Nella is a name of Norse origin.
  • Peaked in 1927, when 81 babies were given the name.
  • After peaking in the 1920s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
  • Today about 1 in 55,258 babies in the United States is given this name.
  • 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.

Nella over time

Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.

656
'80 '90 '00 '10 '20 '30 '40 '50 '60 '70 '80 '90 '00 '10 '20
Show the numbers
Births named Nella by decade in the United States
Decade Births
1880s 125
1890s 147
1900s 176
1910s 463
1920s 656
1930s 619
1940s 412
1950s 285
1960s 183
1970s 89
1980s 31
1990s 18
2000s 172
2010s 597
2020s (to 2025) 401

How popular is Nella?

In 2025, Nella was given to 60 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

Where Nella is used

Northern Ireland #549 3 in 2019
Scotland #624 5 in 2022
Ireland #735 5 in 2024
England & Wales #815 45 in 2025
Canada #1,190 22 in 2024
France #1,808 20 in 2025
United States #2,858 60 in 2025

The bar shows how near the top of each country's list the name sits, on a scale where #1 fills the row and #1,000 is a sliver. The figures beside it are the real rank and the babies recorded that year.

US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.

Names that peaked alongside Nella

These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.

Parents who like Nella also like

Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Nella over the last century — the same taste, a different name.

Nella in other languages

The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.

Italian
Nilla
Other forms
Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
Nelle

Sibling names for Nella

Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Nella — the two things that make a sibling set grate.

Common questions about Nella

How popular is the name Nella?

In 2025, Nella was given to 60 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

Is Nella a girl's or a boy's name?

Nella is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.

How many syllables are in Nella?

Nella has 2 syllables.

When was Nella most popular?

Nella peaked in 1927, when 81 babies were given the name. After peaking in the 1920s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.

Is Nella a good name?

That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Nella currently ranks #815 in the United States. After peaking in the 1920s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.