Girls' name · since 1880
Nella
Nella has 4,374 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1927 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #2,810 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #2,823 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 4,374
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
4,374 babies have been named Nella since 1880, making it today's #2823 girls' name.
Nella has 4,374 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #2823 as of the latest data, more common than 84% of girls, busiest in the 1920s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #2,810 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #2,823 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 4,374 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Nella ranks #2,810 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #2,823 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 4,374 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #2,810 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #2,823 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 4,374
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Nella's 4,374 recorded births place it above 96.11% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
23 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Kentucky.
How Nella compares
4,374 Top 15% higher than 85% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Nella's all-time total is 12x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Nella | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 4,374 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 81 | 21 | 19,840 |
Nella's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Nella splits its recorded history at 1945: 45% of all births land in the more recent half, 55% in the earlier half, an evenly balanced pattern over time. The single quietest year was 1972 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1927 peak of 81 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Nella popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1927)
- 81
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Nella by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (656 births, 15% of the file).
1920s was Nella's strongest decade.
656 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 15% of all-time use.
Nella births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 125
1880s
125 births
- 1890s 147
1890s
147 births
- 1900s 176
1900s
176 births
- 1910s
1910s
463 births
- 1920s
1920s
656 births
- 1930s
1930s
619 births
- 1940s
1940s
412 births
- 1950s
1950s
285 births
- 1960s 183
1960s
183 births
- 1970s 89
1970s
89 births
- 1980s 31
1980s
31 births
- 1990s 18
1990s
18 births
- 2000s 172
2000s
172 births
- 2010s
2010s
597 births
- 2020s
2020s
401 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 656 births (15% of all-time use).
How Nella compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Nella's total volume
Nella by state
Where Nella concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Kentucky | | 247 | 5.6% |
| #2 | Texas | | 159 | 3.6% |
| #3 | Alabama | | 135 | 3.1% |
| #4 | California | | 95 | 2.2% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 88 | 2.0% |
| #6 | Tennessee | | 82 | 1.9% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 50 | 1.1% |
| #8 | New York | | 40 | 0.9% |
247 of 4,374 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 23 reporting states.
Nella appears in 23 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Nella? ▼
Where does Nella sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Nella most popular? ▼
Where is Nella most popular? ▼
How long has the name Nella been used? ▼
What names are similar to Nella? ▼
What to do with Nella's data
- Nella's usage has stayed within range of its 1920s decade-level peak (656 total births) through the 2020s (401) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- Kentucky records the most Nellas (247 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Kentucky names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Nella
Nearby Names Like Nella
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Nella
Compare Nella side by side: Nella vs Nellie Nella vs Nell Nella vs Nelda
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Nella
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Nella: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1927)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Nella draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.