Estela
Feminine · “star”
Estela is a star in Spanish — from the Latin stella, the same word behind stellar and constellation, and behind the English name Estelle.
How old is the name Estela?
Estela first appears in US birth records in 1903 — 122 years ago. The typical Estela alive today was born around 1976, making them about 49 years old. About 7,300 people named Estela are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Estela most popular?
Estela peaked in 1932, reaching #745 nationally. Today it ranks #1622, 877 places below that high. See the whole 1932 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From stella to Estela
The story of Estela
Stella and its Romance forms have been in use since the Middle Ages; Sir Philip Sidney's sonnet sequence Astrophil and Stella of 1591 fixed it in English literature. Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan use Estela. Spanish-speaking families brought it to the United States, where it appears steadily in the registers and is in current use.
Meaning
star
From the Latin stella, 'star', through the Old French estoile and the Spanish estela. The word is ordinary and the meaning undisputed. The Spanish estela also means a ship's wake, from a different Latin root, which is a coincidence of form rather than of origin.
How the name formed
- stella
- estoile
- Estela
Related forms: Estela · Estela · Estelle · Stella
Pronouncing Estela
es-TEH-lah
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Spanish says it the same way with crisper vowels.
Nicknames for Estela
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1903
- Most girls named
- 2023133 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #745reached in 1932
- Change vs 2023
- −3.8%128 in 2025, from 133
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Estela in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Estela in Spanish — same name
- Estela in Portuguese — same name
- Estelle in French — related form
- Stella in Italian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Estelas among us
people named Estela are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 12,557 born in 2025 was named Estela
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Estela
- #1622
- Estela on the 2025 chart
- #409
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Estela went to 128 girls in 2025, but Estella is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 709, which makes it the 409th most-given girls’ name of the year — 1,213 places above the chart.
- Estella581
- Estela128
About 1 girl in 2,267 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 12,557 for Estela itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Lurline test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Estela's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Lurline climbed just as high around 1913, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Lurline's path sketches the road Estela is walking now.
Estela is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Estela is headed
Estela should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Estela beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Estela in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The star meaning is concrete, transparent and undisputed.
- Stella and Estelle are available as related forms, both current.
- It is standard in Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan without change.
- Estella with two l's is an equally established spelling.
- Stella is far commoner in English and will be substituted.
- The Spanish word also means a ship's wake, which is unrelated.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Estela
Feminine · #1622 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Estelas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 7,300 people named Estela are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Estela?
- Estela is one of 2 recorded spellings. Estella is the more common one — 581 births in 2025 against 128 for Estela.
- How popular is the name Estela in 2025?
- Estela ranks #1622 among US girl names in 2025, with 128 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Estela?
- About 1 in every 12,557 US girls born in 2025 was named Estela — 128 in all.
- Will my child share the name Estela with classmates?
- Estela will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Estela
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Nadine#1622 · Nell#1622 · Sianni#1622 · Isis#1622 · Yvette#1622 · Eris#1622 · Cristina#1622 · Mazikeen#1622
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Estela? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Estela and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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