Estella
Estella was the 509th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 581 babies. Its best year was 1883, when it ranked 106th; the most babies were born in 1921 (638). Over the last ten years it has moved up 368 places. More babies were named Estella in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning star · Latin, Occitan, French
Say it eh-STEL-uh /ɛˈstɛlə/
- Rank in 2025
- #509 girls, up 222 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 581girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 1921638 babies
- Total since 1880
- 42,975babies recorded
What does the name Estella mean?
Estella is a Latin-looking and Italian variant of Estelle, the French name that comes from Occitan estela, star, and ultimately Latin stella. DMNES has Stella, from Latin stella, star, as a separate medieval name. Wiktionary notes that Estelle was the name of a third-century martyr. The Real Academia Española traces the related Spanish word estrella, star, to the same Latin stella.
estela (Occitan, “star”)stēlla (Latin, “star”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Estelle, Stella, Estrella, Stelle.
See also: Latin names, names that mean sky, star, moon or sun.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Estella' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Estelle' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Stella', DMNES (Durham University)
- Real Academia Española, Diccionario de la lengua española (23rd ed., online), entry 'estrella' (etymology), Real Academia Española / ASALE
Nicknames for Estella
The usual nicknames for Estella are Stella. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Estella in the last five years, 812 were named Stella, against 619 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stella · also for Estelle | Traditional | #52 | 22,450 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Estellas go by each one.
Estella popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 55 since 1889.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #509 | 581 |
| 2020 | #731 | 375 |
| 2010 | #1,006 | 250 |
| 2000 | #2,316 | 67 |
| 1990 | #2,240 | 57 |
| 1980 | #1,278 | 100 |
| 1970 | #886 | 150 |
| 1960 | #587 | 285 |
| 1950 | #401 | 396 |
| 1940 | #337 | 358 |
| 1930 | #310 | 460 |
| 1920 | #264 | 616 |
| 1910 | #181 | 377 |
| 1900 | #159 | 365 |
| 1890 | #122 | 320 |
| 1880 | #111 | 162 |
How popular is Estella, counting every spelling?
Estella is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #451 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #509 for Estella on its own. Together these spellings went to 709 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estella | 581 | #509 | 2,764 |
| Estela | 128 | #1,624 | 622 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Estella?
581 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Estella (0.16 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Estella born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 14 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Estella.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Estella?
About 17,700 people born in the US named Estella are alive today, with a median age of 44; half are between 10 and 71. That makes Estella mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Estella by state
How common Estella was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Kansas (2.3×), Arkansas (2.2×), Iowa (2.1×), Oregon (1.9×), Wisconsin (1.8×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Connecticut, Alabama, New York.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Estella: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Estella, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Estella · Sibling names for Estella
Questions about the name Estella
What does Estella mean?
Estella means “star” (Latin, Occitan, French origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Estella?
Estella was the 509th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 581 babies. Its best year was 1883, when it ranked 106th; the most babies were born in 1921 (638). Over the last ten years it has moved up 368 places. More babies were named Estella in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Estella a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Estella in the US.
Where is Estella most popular?
In 2021–2025, Estella was most common in Kansas (0.80 per 1,000 girls), followed by New Mexico and Arkansas.