Given name
Stela
“star of the sea”
Stela is a variant of Stella. One English interpretation is “star of the sea.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Stela is a variant of Stella. One English interpretation is “star of the sea.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Stela is a variant of Stella. An origin associated with Stella is Latin.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 2000. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Stela through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 204
- 0 boys · 204 girls
- Most popular year
- 2021
- 14 babies
- 2025
- 8
- #11,808 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +11%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 8 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 11,808 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 11.1% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 898 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Stela’s family of names
In Czech usage, Stela has a diminutive in Stelinka. In Polish usage, Stela shares an earlier linguistic root with Stella. In Polish usage, Stela has a conventional equivalent in the French form Estelle.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Stela has relatives in 5 languages.
6 related names in 5 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 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 6
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 4
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Stela
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Stela, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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“of the sky and sea”
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