If you’re looking for a modern name with vintage roots for a baby girl, then Stella might be the baby name for you. The name Stella is of Latin and Italian origin meaning “celestial star.”
In the past, the name could also have been used to describe someone who lived in a location with the word "star" in its name. A person who lived at a place where the roads radiated out in various different directions, like in the shape of a star, may also have been called Stella.
The name Stella may have come into prominence after being used in a sonnet by Philip Sidney, an English poet remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan age. Composed around 1590, Sidney's sonnet, Astrophel and Stella tells the story of a love affair.
- Origin: The name Stella is of Latin and Italian origin meaning “star.”
- Gender: Stella is most commonly used as a girl's name.
- Pronunciation: stel-uh
Editor's Note
Although baby names are separated by gender, Parents believes that sex does not need to play a role in your name selection process. It's important to select a name that you feel suits your new baby the best.
How Popular Is the Name Stella?
The name Stella has appeared in the top 1,000 list of names for baby girls since 1880, the first available year of data from the Social Security Administration. At its debut, the name was already ranked as No. 60 and would remain in the top 100 most popular names for baby girls for the next quarter-century.
Stella steadily decreased in popularity until it fell off the top 1,000 list completely in 1986. However, it jumped back on the next year as No. 965, then disappeared off the top 1,000 list once again in 1988.
In 1998, the name Stella reappeared on the list of top girl names as No. 909. It then makes a dramatic comeback, jumping almost 800 spots in the next 10 years. The name peaked in 2018 as No. 38 and currently sat as No. 40 in the rankings from 2022.
One of the possible reasons for the dramatic rise in popularity of the name Stella in the last few decades was due to the success of Stella McCartney, an English fashion designer and cultural icon. She is also the daughter of the popular singer-songwriter Sir Paul McCartney. In 2001, Stella McCartney launched a fashion house in her name, which quickly became a global brand.
Name Variations
The following are variations of the name Stella:
- Estella (Spanish)
- Estelle (Latin)
- Estrella (Spanish)
- Starla (English)
- Stela (Latin)
Similar Names
Similar sounding names to Stella include:
- Bella
- Ella
- Emma
- Mayella
- Sadella
Other Italian girl names include:
- Alessandra
- Camilla
- Catarina
- Claudia
- Elisa
- Livia
- Lara
- Luciana
Valentina
Other girl names that start with "S" include:
- Sadie
- Samantha
- Sandra
- Sarah
- Savannah
- Scarlet
- Shea
- Sienna
- Sophia
- Stephanie
- Summer
- Susy
Suggested Sibling Names
Looking for a sibling name for Stella? Here are some popular options:
- Ava
- Celeste
- Chloe
- Cosmos
- Felipe
- Gemma
- Joaquin
- Nova
- Orion
- Pasqual
- Sebastien
- Skye
Famous People Named Stella
With a name like Stella, it's no wonder that these luminous personas have risen to fame. The popularity of the name has also spawned many fictional characters with the spunky moniker.
Famous Stellas
- Stella Zakharova, Olympic gymnast for the former Soviet Union
- Stella Parton, American country music singer-songwriter and sister of Dolly Parton
- Stella Bennett, New Zealand singer-songwriter
- Stella Nina McCartney, English fashion designer and daughter of the singer-songwriter Sir Paul McCartney
- Stella Teodora Hudgens, American singer and actress
- Stella Tennant, British model and granddaughter of Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire
- Stella Stevens, American film, television, and stage actress from the 1950s and 1960s
- Stella Banderas, actress and daughter of actors Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas
Fictional Stellas
- Stella, a female galah bird in the Angry Birds series who has her own spin-off called Angry Birds Stella
- Stella Bonasera, character in television series CSI: NY
- Stella Bonnaro, character in Cowboy Bebop, a Japanese science-fiction neo-noir anime television series
- Stella Crawford, character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders
- Stella Kowalski, character in the play A Streetcar Named Desire
- Stella Malone, character in the Disney Channel series Jonas
- Stella the Star Fairy, a character from the Rainbow Magic book franchise
- Stella Zhau, from the American animated series The Loud House