Given name & surname
Bela
“a white-skinned man”
Bela is used as a given name and a surname. One Slavic interpretation is “a white-skinned man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Slavic interpretation is “a white-skinned man.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Slavic.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1912. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Bela through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,295
- 485 boys · 810 girls
- Most popular year
- 2008
- 49 babies
- 2025
- 21
- #5,749 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +25%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 21 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 5,749 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 36.7% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 44 in 2010. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,579 as a first name in 2020; 483 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Bela’s family of names
Bela has a related form in Bella. In Portuguese usage, Bela has a conventional equivalent in the English form Bella. Bela has a related form in Bella.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Bela has relatives in 3 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Slavic roots to each of them.
3 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 8
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Bela
- Bela LugosiHungarian-American actor (1882–1956)
- Bella KhotenashviliGeorgian chess grandmasterborn 1988
- Bela BoseIndian actress1943–2023
- Bela PadillaFilipino actressborn 1990
- Bela ShendeIndian singerborn 1982
- Bela of Saint-OmerLord of one half of Thebes, father of Nicholas II, Otho and John1250–1258
- Bela Čikoš SesijaCroatian painter (1864-1931)
- Béla Bergerchess player1931–2005
- Bela FernandesBrazilian actressborn 2004
Characters named Bela: Bela Talbot (the TV series Supernatural).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Bela, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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