Bela
A feminine name of Hungarian origin meaning "beautiful", "fair", or "intellect".
Name Census estimates that about 1,058 living Americans carry the first name Bela. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 61.9% of registrations being female. The average person named Bela today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bela births was 2008 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bela. 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.
Key insights
- • Bela started out as a boys' name but over the decades crossed over and is now given to girls far more often.
- • Bela sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 323,964 Americans
Peak year
2008
49 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2022 SSA rank
#4,561
Tracked since 1912
Gender
Gender distribution for Bela
Bela is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,273 total registrations, 485 (38.1%) were male and 788 (61.9%) were female.
Bela as a male name
- Ranked #9,074 in 2022
- 8 male births in 2022
- Peak: 1918 (14 births)
Bela as a female name
- Ranked #4,561 in 2024
- 30 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2010 (44 births)
Popularity
Bela: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bela from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 336 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Bela remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bela 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 Bela during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Belas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Bela, while Florida, New York, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 35 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bela
The name Bela has its origins in various cultures and languages around the world. In Hungarian, the name Bela is derived from the Slavic word "bely," meaning "white" or "fair." It was a popular name among Hungarian royalty and nobility during the medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Bela was Bela I, who reigned as King of Hungary from 1060 to 1063. He was known for his efforts to strengthen the kingdom and promote Christianity.
In Sanskrit, the name Bela is believed to be derived from the word "bala," which means "young" or "child." It was a common name among Hindus, particularly in northern India.
In ancient Greek mythology, Bela was the name of an Amazon warrior, known for her strength and bravery in battle. The name has also been associated with the Greek word "belos," meaning "arrow."
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Bela. One of the most famous was Bela Bartok (1881-1945), a renowned Hungarian composer and pianist. He is celebrated for his innovative contributions to 20th-century music, incorporating folk elements into his compositions.
Another prominent figure was Bela Lugosi (1882-1956), a Hungarian-American actor best known for his iconic portrayal of Count Dracula in the 1931 film adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel.
In Indian history, Bela Rajput was a renowned ruler of the Chauhan dynasty in the 12th century. She was celebrated for her courage and military prowess in defending her kingdom against invaders.
Bela Kun (1886-1939) was a Hungarian revolutionary and communist leader who briefly ruled the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919 before being overthrown.
Bela Zsolt (1895-1949) was a Hungarian-American film director and screenwriter who worked in Hollywood during the Golden Age of cinema, directing numerous successful films in the 1930s and 1940s.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Bela
People
Bela + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bela as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Bela: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bela?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,058 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bela 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 323,964 US residents.
Is Bela a common name?
We classify Bela as "Rare". It ranks above 90.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,273 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bela most popular?
The single biggest year for Bela was 2008, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bela is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Bela a female name?
Yes, 61.9% of people registered as Bela 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.
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.