Estela
A feminine Spanish diminutive of "Estrella" meaning "little star".
Name Census estimates that about 6,659 living Americans carry the first name Estela. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Estela today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Estela births was 2022 (134 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Estela. 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 Estela with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
6.7K
~ 1 in 51,472 Americans
Peak year
2022
134 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,749
Tracked since 1903
Census
Estela in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 23,235 people with the first name Estela, which placed it at #1,454 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
#1,454
National first-name rank
People counted
23K
23,235 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
7.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
92.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Estela
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Estela is Hispanic at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.4%) and White (2.0%). 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 Estela 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 Estela at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino92.9% · 21,577
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.4% · 1,031
- White2.0% · 470
- Black or African American0.4% · 87
- Two or more races0.2% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 17
Popularity
Estela: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Estela from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 1,007 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1950s peak, Estela remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Estela 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 Estela during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Estelas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. Texas, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Estela, while Nevada, New Jersey, Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 458 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Estela
The name Estela originated from the Latin word "stella," which means "star." It has its roots in ancient Roman culture, where stars held significant celestial and mythological importance. The name was likely derived as a feminine form of the masculine name "Stellius" or "Stellanus," both meaning "of the stars."
During the Roman era, the name Estela was not widely used, but it gained popularity in the Medieval period across various European regions, particularly in Spain and Portugal. It is believed that the name's widespread adoption was influenced by the veneration of saints and religious figures associated with stars or celestial themes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Estela can be traced back to the 12th century in Spain. Estela Sánchez de Navarra (1148-1235) was a Spanish noblewoman and the wife of King Sancho VI of Navarre. Her name is documented in historical records and chronicles of the time.
In the 14th century, Estela de Forment (1313-1386) was a prominent Catalan painter and illuminator active in Barcelona, Spain. She is considered one of the earliest known professional female artists in the Iberian Peninsula.
During the Renaissance period, Estela Calderini (1483-1542) was an Italian humanist, scholar, and poet from Milan. She was renowned for her mastery of Latin and Greek literature and was highly regarded in intellectual circles of her time.
In the 17th century, Estela Roîs (1611-1688) was a French playwright and novelist from Grenoble. She wrote several popular plays and novels that explored themes of love, honor, and societal norms.
Another notable figure with the name Estela was Estela Canto (1915-1994), a Mexican actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout her career. She was renowned for her versatility and captivating performances on stage and screen.
While the name Estela has its origins in ancient Roman culture, it has been adapted and embraced across various regions and cultures over the centuries, particularly in Europe and Latin America. The name's association with celestial themes and its rich historical legacy have contributed to its enduring popularity and cultural significance.
People
Estela + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Estela as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Estela: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Estela?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6,659 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Estela 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 51,472 US residents.
Is Estela a common name?
We classify Estela as "Rare". It ranks above 97.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 9,018 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Estela most popular?
The single biggest year for Estela was 2022, when 134 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Estela is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Estela in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 23,235 people with the name Estela, or 7.69 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,454 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 Estela 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 Estela?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Estela appears almost entirely female. Of the 23,239 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Estela?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Estela is Hispanic at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.4%) and White (2.0%). 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 Estela most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Estela in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (21,577 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 Estela in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Estela a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Estela 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 Estela still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Estela 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 Estela 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 share the name Estela?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.