girls' name ★ peaked 2018

Stella

Meaning A female given name from Latin Gender Girl Rank 2025 #52 Trend ↓ Falling 11%

A female given name from Latin.

Rank 2025
#52
among girls · ↓3 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
4,136
named Stella · -3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 389
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2018
5,164 babies
All-time total
207,288
#195 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Stella popularity over time

207,288 babies have been named Stella 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
1.883.755.637.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 6,130 5 6,135 614 – #55
1890s 9,807 26 9,833 983 +60% #56
1900s 11,014 41 11,055 1,106 +12% #63
1910s 28,526 60 28,586 2,859 +159% #62
1920s 25,899 94 25,993 2,599 -9% #82
1930s 11,206 82 11,288 1,129 -57% #140
1940s 11,363 20 11,383 1,138 +1% #184
1950s 8,591 11 8,602 860 -24% #226
1960s 4,957 – 4,957 496 -42% #380
1970s 2,563 5 2,568 257 -48% #543
1980s 1,867 – 1,867 187 -27% #731
1990s 1,798 – 1,798 180 -4% #725
2000s 11,843 – 11,843 1,184 +559% #126
2010s 44,225 33 44,258 4,426 +274% #38
2020s (to 2025) 27,117 5 27,122 4,520 +2% #40

Where Stella 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 4,056 2.52 #54
2027 3,989 2.48 #55
2028 3,933 2.45 #58
2029 3,886 2.42 #58
2030 3,847 2.39 #60

Where Stella is most popular

Girls named Stella per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 2.77 per 1,000. Strongest in North Dakota, Alaska, and New Hampshire.

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 Stella 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
North Dakota 90 6.85 +147%
Alaska 57 6.62 +139%
New Hampshire 108 5.85 +111%
Rhode Island 72 5.75 +108%
Delaware 65 5.73 +107%
Connecticut 323 5.55 +101%
Montana 71 5.24 +90%
Maine 80 5.17 +87%
West Virginia 133 5.07 +83%
South Dakota 72 5.04 +82%
Massachusetts 574 4.75 +72%
Hawaii 54 4.71 +70%
Kentucky 396 4.63 +67%
Oregon 299 4.59 +66%
Iowa 266 4.55 +65%
Arkansas 240 4.54 +64%
Kansas 259 4.49 +62%
District of Columbia 52 4.39 +59%
Missouri 523 4.34 +57%
Minnesota 463 4.29 +55%
Wisconsin 432 4.19 +52%
Nebraska 149 4.14 +50%
Washington 598 4.14 +50%
Oklahoma 301 4.09 +48%
Nevada 189 4.07 +47%
Michigan 739 4.06 +47%
New Jersey 726 4.02 +45%
Tennessee 630 3.98 +44%
Idaho 132 3.94 +43%
Pennsylvania 912 3.86 +39%
Utah 317 3.81 +38%
Mississippi 176 3.76 +36%
Ohio 889 3.75 +35%
Louisiana 327 3.74 +35%
South Carolina 322 3.58 +29%
Colorado 397 3.56 +29%
Indiana 499 3.55 +28%
Wyoming 15 3.52 +27%
Vermont 17 3.51 +27%
Alabama 310 3.30 +19%
New York 1,307 3.30 +19%
Illinois 746 3.26 +18%
Florida 1,389 3.25 +17%
Maryland 336 3.17 +15%
North Carolina 718 3.15 +14%
Virginia 536 3.14 +14%
New Mexico 72 2.96 +7%
Arizona 402 2.86 ≈ national
Georgia 622 2.74 ≈ national
California 2,160 2.57 -7%
Texas 1,860 2.31 -16%

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 Stella

Stella is a top-100 name for girls in the United States, ranked #52 in 2025 with 4,136 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 207,288 American babies have been named Stella. Its peak came in 2018, when 5,164 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

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 Stella stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Stella?

The median living Stella is about 11 years old; half are between 6 and 29. An estimated 111 thousand people named Stella are alive in the United States today.

median 11 020406080100

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

Stella 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 4,136 #52 – –
2024 4,274 #49 – –
2023 4,371 #46 – –
2022 4,849 #40 – –
2021 4,820 #41 – –
2020 4,667 #42 5 #13,786
2019 4,997 #40 – –
2018 5,164 #38 – –
2017 5,070 #42 – –
2016 4,933 #45 – –
2015 4,798 #51 7 #10,477
2014 4,203 #66 6 #11,919
2013 3,916 #70 – –
2012 4,006 #62 7 #10,609
2011 3,698 #74 6 #12,069
2010 3,440 #85 7 #10,600
2009 2,560 #126 – –
2008 1,824 #186 – –
2007 1,463 #243 – –
2006 1,413 #242 – –
2005 1,308 #250 – –
2004 1,123 #291 – –
2003 797 #380 – –
2002 557 #499 – –
2001 422 #598 – –
2000 376 #656 – –
1995 125 #1,328 – –
1990 171 #1,051 – –
1985 154 #996 – –
1980 228 #732 – –
1975 251 #629 – –
1970 347 #543 – –
1965 511 #411 – –
1960 617 #383 – –
1955 794 #305 – –
1950 1,113 #226 – –
1945 993 #198 – –
1940 962 #192 – –
1935 945 #187 9 #2,690
1930 1,570 #140 8 #3,260
1925 2,402 #114 9 #3,124
1920 3,492 #82 13 #2,440
1915 3,657 #64 – –
1910 1,319 #72 – –
1905 1,097 #67 – –
1900 1,177 #68 6 #1,288
1895 1,026 #60 – –
1890 924 #56 5 #1,145
1885 649 #57 5 #1,084
1880 414 #60 – –

Famous people named Stella

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Stella McCartney Stella McCartney English fashion designer (born 1971) Contemporary
  2. 2 Stella Stevens Stella Stevens American actress (1938–2023) b. 1936 · Contemporary
  3. 3 Stella Maxwell Stella Maxwell Belgian model (born 1990) Contemporary
  4. 4 Stella Adler Stella Adler American actress and acting teacher (1901–1992) Contemporary
  5. 5 Stella Maeve American actress b. 1989 · Contemporary
  6. 6 Stella Gibbons Stella Gibbons British writer (1902–1989) Contemporary
  7. 7 Stella Mwangi Stella Mwangi Kenyan-Norwegian singer (born 1986) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Stella?

The median living Stella is about 11 years old. Half of all living Stellas are between 6 and 29 years old.

How many people named Stella are alive today?

An estimated 111 thousand people named Stella are alive in the United States, based on 207,288 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Stella mean?

A female given name from Latin.

How popular is the name Stella in 2025?

Stella ranked #52 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 4,136 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Stella?

207,288 babies have been named Stella in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Stella most popular?

Stella peaked in 2018, when 5,164 newborns received the name.

Is Stella a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Stella rising or falling?

Stella has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Stella become more popular?

Stella is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 3,847 girls named Stella in 2030, which would rank around #60. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Stella?

Well-known people named Stella include Stella McCartney (actor), Stella Stevens (actor), Stella Maxwell (model).

Names like Stella

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

Compare Stella with similar names → More names starting with S →