girls' name ★ peaked 1918

Luella

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #780 Trend ↑ Rising 22%

A female given name originating as a coinage, variant of Louella.

Rank 2025
#780
among girls · ↑44 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
349
named Luella · +4% vs 2024
How common
1 in 4,605
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1918
949 babies
All-time total
32,621
#795 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Luella popularity over time

32,621 babies have been named Luella since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.511.5218801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 1,384 – 1,384 138 – #120
1890s 2,151 – 2,151 215 +55% #174
1900s 2,895 – 2,895 290 +35% #166
1910s 6,648 5 6,653 665 +130% #184
1920s 7,642 11 7,653 765 +15% #216
1930s 4,100 – 4,100 410 -46% #253
1940s 1,905 – 1,905 191 -54% #430
1950s 947 – 947 95 -50% #769
1960s 502 – 502 50 -47% #1,233
1970s 212 – 212 21 -58% #2,255
1980s 132 – 132 13 -38% #4,261
1990s 100 – 100 10 -24% #6,324
2000s 395 – 395 40 +295% #2,280
2010s 1,811 – 1,811 181 +358% #912
2020s (to 2025) 1,781 – 1,781 297 +64% #780

Where Luella is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 360 0.22 outside top 500
2027 371 0.23 outside top 500
2028 379 0.24 outside top 500
2029 387 0.24 outside top 500
2030 394 0.24 outside top 500

Where Luella is most popular

Girls named Luella per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.187 per 1,000. Strongest in South Dakota, Minnesota, and North Dakota.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Luella born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
South Dakota 27 1.89 +910%
Minnesota 128 1.19 +534%
North Dakota 14 1.07 +469%
Wisconsin 106 1.03 +450%
Oregon 49 0.753 +302%
Alaska 6 0.697 +272%
Iowa 38 0.650 +247%
Michigan 88 0.483 +158%
Utah 33 0.397 +112%
Missouri 47 0.390 +108%
Idaho 12 0.359 +92%
Indiana 46 0.328 +75%
Washington 46 0.318 +70%
Ohio 73 0.308 +64%
Kansas 17 0.295 +57%
Pennsylvania 55 0.233 +24%
Tennessee 35 0.221 +18%
Kentucky 17 0.199 +6%
Arizona 27 0.192 ≈ national
Colorado 21 0.188 ≈ national
Illinois 34 0.149 -21%
North Carolina 33 0.145 -23%
New York 49 0.124 -34%
Virginia 21 0.123 -34%
Florida 51 0.119 -36%
California 92 0.109 -42%
Massachusetts 13 0.108 -43%
Oklahoma 7 0.095 -49%
Texas 70 0.087 -54%
Maryland 7 0.066 -65%
Alabama 6 0.064 -66%
Georgia 14 0.062 -67%
South Carolina 5 0.056 -70%
New Jersey 6 0.033 -82%
Arkansas – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Louisiana – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Rhode Island – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Luella

Luella is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #780 in 2025 with 349 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 32,621 American babies have been named Luella. Its peak came in 1918, when 949 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1910s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Luella stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Luella?

The median living Luella is about 35 years old; half are between 6 and 80. An estimated 8,100 people named Luella are alive in the United States today.

median 35 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Luella year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 349 #780 – –
2024 334 #824 – –
2023 286 #930 – –
2022 262 #1,001 – –
2021 288 #924 – –
2020 262 #974 – –
2019 282 #938 – –
2018 278 #953 – –
2017 294 #912 – –
2016 206 #1,204 – –
2015 177 #1,347 – –
2014 148 #1,507 – –
2013 122 #1,709 – –
2012 108 #1,867 – –
2011 93 #2,081 – –
2010 103 #1,955 – –
2009 86 #2,280 – –
2008 79 #2,432 – –
2007 53 #3,232 – –
2006 57 #3,005 – –
2005 35 #4,083 – –
2004 32 #4,345 – –
2003 17 #6,780 – –
2002 13 #8,112 – –
2001 9 #10,636 – –
2000 14 #7,409 – –
1995 13 #6,879 – –
1990 14 #6,324 – –
1985 10 #6,748 – –
1980 15 #4,875 – –
1975 18 #3,708 – –
1970 35 #2,255 – –
1965 45 #1,683 – –
1960 79 #1,233 – –
1955 105 #973 – –
1950 127 #769 – –
1945 139 #617 – –
1940 251 #430 – –
1935 363 #333 – –
1930 597 #255 – –
1925 761 #238 6 #4,009
1920 852 #224 – –
1915 783 #211 – –
1910 374 #184 – –
1905 287 #178 – –
1900 268 #192 – –
1895 227 #178 – –
1890 184 #175 – –
1885 131 #161 – –
1880 111 #140 – –

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Luella, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Luella?

The median living Luella is about 35 years old. Half of all living Luellas are between 6 and 80 years old.

How many people named Luella are alive today?

An estimated 8,100 people named Luella are alive in the United States, based on 32,621 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Luella mean?

A female given name originating as a coinage, variant of Louella.

How popular is the name Luella in 2025?

Luella ranked #780 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 349 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Luella?

32,621 babies have been named Luella in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Luella most popular?

Luella peaked in 1918, when 949 newborns received the name.

Is Luella a boy or girl name?

Luella is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Luella rising or falling?

Luella is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Luella become more popular?

Luella is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 394 girls named Luella in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Names like Luella

Names that sound and feel close to Luella: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Luella with similar names → More names starting with L →