Given name
Ula
“jewel of the sea”
Ula is used as a given name. One Irish interpretation is “jewel of the sea.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Irish interpretation is “jewel of the sea.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Irish.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Ula through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,649
- 31 boys · 1,618 girls
- Most popular year
- 1924
- 64 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #17,088 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +100%
- Rising fast
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 17,088 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for girls was 56 in 1924. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 747 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.
Ula’s family of names
In Polish usage, Ula is a diminutive of URSZULA. Ula has a related form in Ulaa. Ula has a related form in Ulae.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 5
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 7
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Ula
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Ula, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Mulvenna
“descendant of the chieftain of the Main river”
—
Mulvany
“descendant of the chieftain of the Main river”
—
Umeyo
“one who is patient; a plum-blossom child”
>99% girls
Orinthia
“of the pine tree” · “a fair lady”
3% boys · 97% girls
Mulvaney
“descendant of the chieftain of the Main river”
—
Omah
“from the cedar tree”
>99% girls
Ometa
“from the cedar tree”
>99% girls
Opaline
Opaline is a variant of Opal. One Sanskrit interpretation is “a treasured jewel; resembling the iridescent gemstone.”
>99% girls