Stella

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 21 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Stella is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English given name1.0M records spelled Stella93 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Brazil, United Kingdom, Australia

  Languages: English, Portuguese, German

  Also written Stela, Სტელა, Στέλλα, 'Στέλλα, Ստելլա

• Russian given name55K records spelled Stella56 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Russia, Czechia, Ukraine, Croatia

  Languages: Russian, Czech, Ukrainian

  Also written Стелла, Stela, Стэлла, Стела, Стэла

• a separate given name25K records spelled Stella3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, India

  Also written Sṭellā, Stélla

• Finnish given name19K records spelled Stella5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland, Estonia, United States, Nigeria

  Languages: Finnish, Estonian

  Also written Stélla, Ŝťellă, Stëllä

• Lao given name4.0K records spelled Stella7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Laos, United States, Thailand, Nigeria

  Languages: Lao, Thai

  Also written สเตลล่า, สเตลลา, สเต็ลล่า, Stellà, Stêllã

76 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Stella is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, A star-shaped structure.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In French, Forme italienne et anglo-américaine d’Estelle, d’origine latine, signifiant « étoile ».

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In French, Du latin stella, « étoile »; associé à la lumière et à la protection.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In Italian, Dal latino stella, 'stella'; nome femminile usato in area italiana.

  as a name·Dizionario Dei Nomi e Cognomi Italiani

• In Italian, do lat. stella ‘estrela’; matronímico ou toponímico

  as a name·Dicionário dos sobrenomes italianos

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Miles Franklinb. 1879AUnot in their usual nameAustralian writer and feminist (1879–1954)
• Stella Kramrishb. 1896USCzech art historian (1896-1993)
• Stella Adlerb. 1901USAmerican actress and acting teacher (1901–1992)
• Linda Christianb. 1923MXnot in their usual nameMexican actress (1923–2011)
• Stella Stevensb. 1938USAmerican actress (1938–2023)
• Katia Ricciarellib. 1946ITnot in their usual nameItalian opera singer (1946)
• Stella McCartneyb. 1971GBBritish fashion designer (born 1971)
• Stella Youngb. 1982AUAustralian comedian, journalist and disability advocate (1982-2014)
• Stella Mwangib. 1986KEKenyan-Norwegian singer, rapper and songwriter
• Stella Maxwellb. 1990BEBritish model

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,728 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Stella?

We estimate roughly 161 thousand people bear Stella (counting its spellings and scripts) across 15 countries in our records.

In which country does Stella have the most bearers?

Stella is most frequently recorded in Argentina, where it is most often spelled stella.

Where is Stella most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Stella is densest in Iceland — about 1 in 734 people — even though Argentina holds more of our records for it.

How common is Stella compared with other names?

In Argentina, Stella is the 237th most common given name of 517,176 given names recorded there.

Is Stella a male or female name?

Stella is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Stella mean?

Recorded meaning: Latin and Italian form of Estrella, "star".