Zella
#1,733 for girls in 2025, 117 births
- Peak · girls
- 1888 · 111 births
- Debut · girls
- 31 births
- In top 100 · girls
- neverof 146 years
- Total births · girls
- 13,369since 1880
Zella over time
Rank among girls' names. Zella has never cracked the top 200 here.
Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.
Show data table
| Year | girls | |
|---|---|---|
| rank | births | |
| 2025 | #1,733 | 117 |
| 2024 | #1,840 | 109 |
| 2023 | #1,595 | 131 |
| 2022 | #1,437 | 156 |
| 2021 | #1,269 | 183 |
| 2020 | #1,654 | 124 |
| 2019 | #1,383 | 162 |
| 2018 | #1,360 | 166 |
| 2017 | #1,422 | 160 |
| 2016 | #1,472 | 156 |
| 2015 | #1,464 | 157 |
| 2014 | #2,236 | 84 |
| 2013 | #1,939 | 102 |
| 2012 | #2,078 | 92 |
| 2011 | #2,124 | 90 |
| 2010 | #2,562 | 71 |
| 2009 | #2,892 | 60 |
| 2008 | #3,158 | 53 |
| 2007 | #3,428 | 48 |
| 2006 | #3,795 | 40 |
| 2005 | #4,029 | 35 |
| 2004 | #4,093 | 34 |
| 2003 | #6,576 | 17 |
| 2002 | #7,045 | 15 |
| 2001 | #6,619 | 16 |
| 2000 | #6,487 | 16 |
| 1999 | #10,345 | 8 |
| 1998 | #11,138 | 7 |
| 1997 | #12,070 | 6 |
| 1996 | #13,518 | 5 |
| 1995 | #10,514 | 7 |
| 1994 | #9,586 | 8 |
| 1993 | — | |
| 1992 | #8,734 | 9 |
| 1991 | #13,147 | 5 |
| 1990 | — | |
| 1989 | — | |
| 1988 | #10,386 | 6 |
| 1987 | — | |
| 1986 | #10,912 | 5 |
| 1985 | #10,677 | 5 |
| 1984 | #8,153 | 7 |
| 1983 | — | |
| 1982 | #6,888 | 9 |
| 1981 | #5,885 | 11 |
| 1980 | #9,095 | 6 |
| 1979 | #10,210 | 5 |
| 1978 | — | |
| 1977 | — | |
| 1976 | — | |
| 1975 | #4,141 | 15 |
| 1974 | #4,227 | 14 |
| 1973 | #4,871 | 11 |
| 1972 | #3,177 | 20 |
| 1971 | #4,810 | 11 |
| 1970 | #4,038 | 14 |
| 1969 | #3,199 | 18 |
| 1968 | #2,630 | 23 |
| 1967 | #2,781 | 20 |
| 1966 | #2,937 | 18 |
| 1965 | #1,950 | 35 |
| 1964 | #2,348 | 27 |
| 1963 | #1,815 | 41 |
| 1962 | #1,782 | 41 |
| 1961 | #1,499 | 56 |
| 1960 | #1,855 | 37 |
| 1959 | #1,617 | 45 |
| 1958 | #1,606 | 44 |
| 1957 | #1,728 | 39 |
| 1956 | #1,437 | 54 |
| 1955 | #1,423 | 50 |
| 1954 | #1,444 | 48 |
| 1953 | #1,248 | 60 |
| 1952 | #1,156 | 67 |
| 1951 | #1,068 | 75 |
| 1950 | #948 | 89 |
| 1949 | #982 | 83 |
| 1948 | #907 | 92 |
| 1947 | #885 | 99 |
| 1946 | #931 | 80 |
| 1945 | #758 | 98 |
| 1944 | #846 | 81 |
| 1943 | #725 | 113 |
| 1942 | #827 | 86 |
| 1941 | #815 | 78 |
| 1940 | #652 | 114 |
| 1939 | #643 | 113 |
| 1938 | #629 | 119 |
| 1937 | #646 | 110 |
| 1936 | #622 | 112 |
| 1935 | #559 | 131 |
| 1934 | #551 | 137 |
| 1933 | #516 | 151 |
| 1932 | #522 | 158 |
| 1931 | #521 | 159 |
| 1930 | #491 | 184 |
| 1929 | #505 | 179 |
| 1928 | #470 | 213 |
| 1927 | #509 | 190 |
| 1926 | #470 | 216 |
| 1925 | #457 | 228 |
| 1924 | #454 | 235 |
| 1923 | #408 | 267 |
| 1922 | #441 | 235 |
| 1921 | #405 | 280 |
| 1920 | #428 | 244 |
| 1919 | #405 | 255 |
| 1918 | #424 | 244 |
| 1917 | #363 | 298 |
| 1916 | #398 | 248 |
| 1915 | #370 | 265 |
| 1914 | #355 | 224 |
| 1913 | #342 | 199 |
| 1912 | #333 | 186 |
| 1911 | #330 | 144 |
| 1910 | #311 | 151 |
| 1909 | #316 | 131 |
| 1908 | #315 | 125 |
| 1907 | #315 | 123 |
| 1906 | #323 | 108 |
| 1905 | #321 | 110 |
| 1904 | #282 | 126 |
| 1903 | #267 | 132 |
| 1902 | #280 | 124 |
| 1901 | #265 | 122 |
| 1900 | #247 | 171 |
| 1899 | #292 | 102 |
| 1898 | #284 | 115 |
| 1897 | #251 | 128 |
| 1896 | #245 | 130 |
| 1895 | #234 | 137 |
| 1894 | #226 | 138 |
| 1893 | #251 | 109 |
| 1892 | #262 | 102 |
| 1891 | #225 | 115 |
| 1890 | #234 | 108 |
| 1889 | #237 | 96 |
| 1888 | #219 | 111 |
| 1887 | #255 | 67 |
| 1886 | #241 | 72 |
| 1885 | #264 | 56 |
| 1884 | #239 | 63 |
| 1883 | #241 | 55 |
| 1882 | #244 | 50 |
| 1881 | #262 | 38 |
| 1880 | #278 | 31 |
In the first year the SSA published name data, Zella was already there! It came in at #278, and was given to 31 baby girls.
Quietest stretch: 1976–1979, when fewer than 6 girls a year got the name.
Where Zella is popular in 1940
- Rank in state
- Top 10
- 11–50
- 51–100
- 101–500
- 501+
- Not published
Hover or tap a state for its numbers.
- New Mexico#258 · 1 in 1,174
- West Virginia#311 · 1 in 2,705
- Missouri#313 · 1 in 3,108
- Virginia#363 · 1 in 4,121
- Tennessee#365 · 1 in 3,521
Best ever in a state: #35 in Wyoming, 1913.
Show every state
| State | Rank | Births | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Mexico | #258 | 5 | 1 in 1,174 |
| West Virginia | #311 | 7 | 1 in 2,705 |
| Missouri | #313 | 9 | 1 in 3,108 |
| Virginia | #363 | 6 | 1 in 4,121 |
| Tennessee | #365 | 8 | 1 in 3,521 |
| Mississippi | #371 | 7 | 1 in 3,230 |
| Arkansas | #377 | 6 | 1 in 3,186 |
| Kentucky | #382 | 7 | 1 in 4,093 |
| North Carolina | #461 | 6 | 1 in 6,277 |
| Ohio | #547 | 5 | 1 in 10,541 |
| California | #614 | 6 | 1 in 8,321 |
| Texas | #806 | 6 | 1 in 10,017 |
| Alabama | — | — | — |
| Alaska | — | — | — |
| Arizona | — | — | — |
| Colorado | — | — | — |
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| Washington | — | — | — |
| Wisconsin | — | — | — |
| Wyoming | — | — | — |
Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the girls born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.
See more about Zella
- 107 spots since 2024 (#1,840 → #1,733)
- 79 spots since 2020 (#1,654 → #1,733)
- 269 spots since 2015 (#1,464 → #1,733)
- Biggest jump: 102 spots in 1943 (#827 → #725)
- Biggest drop: 173 spots in 1946 (#758 → #931)
- Debuted 1880
- Peaked 1888 at #219 (111 births)
- Births halved by 1954, 66 yrs later
- Top 10: never
- Top 100: never
- Top 1,000: 71 yrs · run 1880–1950
- Highest: 1 in 1,609 girls born in 1888 were named Zella (0.06%)
- Latest: 1 in 13,737 girls born in 2025 (0.01%)
- 17.1% of all girls named Zella (2,287) were born in this decade
Show by decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank | Avg rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 639 | #219 (1888) | #248 |
| 1890s | 1,184 | #225 (1891) | #250 |
| 1900s | 1,272 | #247 (1900) | #293 |
| 1910s | 2,214 | #311 (1910) | #363 |
| 1920s | 2,287 | #405 (1921) | #455 |
| 1930s | 1,374 | #491 (1930) | #570 |
| 1940s | 924 | #652 (1940) | #833 |
| 1950s | 571 | #948 (1950) | #1,368 |
| 1960s | 316 | #1,499 (1961) | #2,280 |
| 1970s | 90 | #3,177 (1972) | #5,068 |
| 1980s | 49 | #5,885 (1981) | #8,857 |
| 1990s | 55 | #8,734 (1992) | #11,132 |
| 2000s | 334 | #2,892 (2009) | #4,812 |
| 2010s | 1,240 | #1,360 (2018) | #1,804 |
| 2020s | 820 | #1,269 (2021) | #1,588 |
All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 girls in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.
Zella in 1940
Top girls' names in 1940
More about 1940
girls
1,143,528 girls got a published name in 1940; 1 in 10,031 of them was named Zella, which outranked 87.0% of the 5,028 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 23.1% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).
- #649Alfreda115
- #649Birdie115
- #649Donnie115
- #652Zella114
- #652Alene114
- #652Elisabeth114
- #652Verla114
- #657Lue113
- #657Pattie113
- #659Cherry112
Tied with 4 names at #652; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.
Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.