Rella
Feminine
Cinderella's name is a job description, and it is one in every language that tells the story. French Cendrillon, German Aschenputtel, Italian Cenerentola, English Cinderella: each is built on that language's word for ashes. She is not a girl with a name; she is the one who sits in the hearth, and the name is what the household calls her.
How old is the name Rella?
Rella was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Rella alive today was born around 1928, making them about 97 years old. About 400 people named Rella are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Rella most popular?
Rella peaked in 1881, reaching #539 nationally. Today it ranks #8362, 7,823 places below that high. See the whole 1881 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Rella
The ash-girl name is one of the more consistent features of the tale across Europe, and it works because the ashes are the point. She sleeps by the fire, she is dirty from it, and she is called after the dirt, which makes the name a mark of her position rather than her identity. When she is transformed, the name becomes ironic, and the story's ending restores a name she is never actually given. Some versions are blunter: the German Aschenputtel means something like ash-fool. The tale itself is very old and very widespread, with a ninth-century Chinese version and analogues across Asia, and in most of them the ash element persists. The -ella ending in the English form is the Latin diminutive that also gives Isabella, Ariella and Marcella, and Rella is what remains when the front of any such name is discarded.
Meaningscholars disagree
Not established
Rella is a short form whose full name is not recoverable from the record. Candidates include Cinderella, Estrella, Aurella, Amarella and Isabella, all of which end in the Latin diminutive -ella. The 1881 American peak places it among the nineteenth-century clipped names that were registered as full names in their own right. No independent etymology exists for the clip.
Pronouncing Rella
REL-ah
Two syllables, stress on the first, short e. There is no competing reading. Ella and Rella differ by one consonant and are frequently confused in speech.
Nicknames for Rella
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 192426 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #539reached in 1881
- Change vs 2022
- +50.0%12 in 2025, from 8
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.
Rella in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Rella in Italian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York.
Rellas among us
people named Rella are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 133,939 born in 2025 was named Rella
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Rella sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Rella beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Rella in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Short, warm and easy to say.
- It carries none of the weight its possible full names do.
- It fits the current revival of nineteenth-century short names.
- Which longer name it stands for is not recoverable.
- Ella is a near-homophone and vastly more common.
- It reads as a nickname to most people.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Rella to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Rella? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Rella
Feminine · #8362 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Rellas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Rella are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Rella in 2025?
- Rella ranks #8362 among US girl names in 2025, with 12 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Rella?
- About 1 in every 133,939 US girls born in 2025 was named Rella — 12 in all.
- Will my child share the name Rella with classmates?
- Rella will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Rella
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Lona#8362 · Peggy#8362 · Leda#8362 · Margarette#8362 · Evalena#8362 · Vashti#8362 · Clementina#8362 · Nona#8362
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Rella? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Rella and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle