girl's name
Stella
STEL-uh
- Origin Latin
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 100 (US)
- Births on record 239,635
the United States
#52
2025 births
Stella is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "star." The poet Philip Sidney appears to have introduced it to English in his sonnet sequence Astrophil and Stella, written in the 1580s, where the name was chosen for its meaning.
- Stella is a name of Latin origin.
- Peaked in 2018, when 5,164 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 802 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Stella 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.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 6,135 |
| 1890s | 9,833 |
| 1900s | 11,055 |
| 1910s | 28,586 |
| 1920s | 25,993 |
| 1930s | 11,288 |
| 1940s | 11,383 |
| 1950s | 8,602 |
| 1960s | 4,957 |
| 1970s | 2,568 |
| 1980s | 1,867 |
| 1990s | 1,798 |
| 2000s | 11,843 |
| 2010s | 44,258 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 27,122 |
What Stella means
Stella means star, taken directly from the Latin. Unlike names where a celestial link is symbolic, Stella is simply the word itself, which is why it also appears in the Marian title Stella Maris, star of the sea.
Where Stella comes from
Stella comes from the Latin stella, meaning star, from an Indo-European root shared with the Greek aster and the English star. It was not used as a given name in classical Rome. Its English life begins with Sir Philip Sidney's sonnet sequence Astrophil and Stella, composed in the 1580s, where the names mean star-lover and star respectively — Sidney chose them for their sense. Jonathan Swift later used Stella as his name for Esther Johnson in his Journal to Stella. The word also carries religious weight through the Latin title Stella Maris, star of the sea, an epithet of the Virgin Mary used in medieval hymns and navigation prayers alike.
Stella in use
Stella entered English as a deliberate poetic coinage rather than through inheritance or migration.
How popular is Stella?
In 2025, Stella was given to 4,136 babies in the United States, ranking #52 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Where Stella is used
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.
How Stella is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Stélla | Stélla is a rare spelling of Stella, written with an acute accent and recorded about 20 times, mostly in France. | 20 |
Names that peaked alongside Stella
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Stella also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Stella over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Stella
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Stella 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.
Sibling names for Stella
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Stella — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Stella
What does the name Stella mean?
Stella means "star," directly from the Latin word.
Where does the name Stella come from?
It entered English through Philip Sidney's 1580s sonnet sequence Astrophil and Stella, where it was chosen for its meaning.
What is Stella Maris?
A Latin title meaning "star of the sea," used of the Virgin Mary in medieval hymns.
How popular is the name Stella?
In 2025, Stella was given to 4,136 babies in the United States, ranking #52 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Is Stella a girl's or a boy's name?
Stella is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Stella?
Stella has 2 syllables.
When was Stella most popular?
Stella peaked in 2018, when 5,164 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Stella?
Stella is usually shortened to Stell and Ella.
Is Stella a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Stella currently ranks #52 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.