Abella
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "beautiful".
Name Census estimates that about 1,072 living Americans carry the first name Abella. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Abella today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Abella births was 2018 (85 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Abella. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Abella with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Abella is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 11 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 319,734 Americans
Peak year
2018
85 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,598
Tracked since 2000
Census
Abella in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 797 people with the first name Abella, which placed it at #14,701 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#14,701
National first-name rank
People counted
797
797 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
34.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Abella
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Abella is Hispanic at 34.5%. The next largest groups are White (32.7%) and Black (13.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Abella described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Abella at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino34.5% · 275
- White32.7% · 261
- Black or African American13.7% · 109
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.5% · 84
- Two or more races7.2% · 57
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 11
Popularity
Abella: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Abella from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 708 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Abella by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Abella during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Abellas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Abella, while Virginia, Oklahoma, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 32 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Abella
The name Abella has its origins in Latin and Italian cultures. It is a feminine given name derived from the Latin word "bella," meaning beautiful or lovely. The name can be traced back to ancient Roman times, where it was likely used as a pet name or nickname for girls.
In the Middle Ages, the name Abella was occasionally found in various regions of Italy, particularly in the northern parts of the country. It was sometimes used as a diminutive form of names like Isabella or Arabella, which themselves have roots in Hebrew and Latin languages.
While the name Abella does not appear to have any direct historical references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its Latin roots suggest that it may have been used among the Roman nobility or upper classes during the classical era.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Abella dates back to the 13th century, when an Italian noblewoman named Abella di Montefeltre was mentioned in medieval records from the region of Tuscany. Another notable historical figure with this name was Abella de' Pazzi, a member of the powerful Pazzi family from Florence, who lived in the 15th century.
Throughout the centuries, the name Abella has been borne by various individuals, albeit less commonly than some other Italian names. In the 16th century, there was an Italian painter named Abella Sofonisba Anguissola, who was renowned for her portraiture and was one of the first women to gain recognition in the art world.
During the 18th century, a French noblewoman named Abella de Montfort was known for her involvement in the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. In the 19th century, Abella Ravaschieri was an Italian botanist and scientist who made significant contributions to the study of plant life.
Another notable figure with this name was Abella Corti, an Italian actress and singer who rose to prominence in the early 20th century for her performances in operettas and musical theatre productions.
While the name Abella has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has maintained a presence in various parts of Italy and other regions influenced by Latin and Italian cultures. Its enduring connection to the concept of beauty and its melodic sound have likely contributed to its continued use as a given name over the centuries.
People
Abella + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Abella as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Abella: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Abella?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,072 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Abella going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 319,734 US residents.
Is Abella a common name?
We classify Abella as "Rare". It ranks above 90.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,081 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Abella most popular?
The single biggest year for Abella was 2018, when 85 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Abella is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Abella in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 797 people with the name Abella, or 0.26 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,701 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Abella in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Abella?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Abella leans strongly female. 790 people counted with this name were female (98.8%), compared with 10 male bearers (1.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Abella?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Abella is Hispanic at 34.5%. The next largest groups are White (32.7%) and Black (13.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Abella most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Abella in the 2020 Census, accounting for 34.5% (275 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Abella in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Abella a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Abella in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Abella still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Abella in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Abella can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Abella?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Abella on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.