Teela
Feminine
Teela fixes a long vowel with a doubled letter, which was the mid-century American way of making sure a made name was read correctly the first time.
How old is the name Teela?
Teela first appears in US birth records in 1948 — 77 years ago. The typical Teela alive today was born around 1985, making them about 40 years old. About 800 people named Teela are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Teela most popular?
Teela peaked in 1984, reaching #867 nationally. See the whole 1984 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Teela
A made name has one practical problem above all others: it has to be readable by strangers on the first attempt, because there is no tradition to fall back on. The doubled vowel solves it. English has several ways of writing a long e, and only one of them is unambiguous — a name written with it cannot be said wrongly, while the same name with a single vowel and a silent e could go either way. That is why the American record fills with doubled vowels in exactly the decades when made names became common. It is not decoration; it is an instruction, and it works.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No source. It may be a respelled Tila or Theila, a clipped Matilda, or a build from the sound; the record holds it bare. Nothing about the spelling points at any of them.
Pronouncing Teela
TEE-luh
Two syllables, stress at the front. The doubled e cannot be read any other way.
Nicknames for Teela
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
- 1948
- Most girls named
- 1984175 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #867reached in 1984
- Change vs 2020
- +33.3%8 in 2022, from 6
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.
Teelas among us
people named Teela are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Teela sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is read correctly on sight by anybody, which is the point of the spelling.
- It is short, soft and easy at any age.
- It is genuinely rare.
- Tila, Tela and Theela are all possible spellings of the sound.
- The doubled vowel dates the spelling to a particular stretch of decades.
- There is no meaning to pass on.
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Teela
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Teelas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Teela are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Teela in 2025?
- Teela is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Teela with classmates?
- Teela will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More T names
The most-given names starting with T, all years combined.
Teresa#908 · Theresa#1548 · Tiffany#878 · Tammy#3645 · Taylor#403 · Tina#2778 · Tracy#2153 · Thelma#4661
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Teela? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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