Estella
A given name derived from the Spanish word estrella, meaning "star".
Name Census estimates that about 16,148 living Americans carry the first name Estella. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Estella today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Estella births was 1921 (638 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Estella. 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 Estella with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Estella is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 55 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
16K
~ 1 in 21,226 Americans
Peak year
1921
638 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
1966 SSA rank
#501
Tracked since 1880
Census
Estella in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 17,560 people with the first name Estella, which placed it at #1,731 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
#1,731
National first-name rank
People counted
18K
17,560 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
5.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
50.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Estella
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Estella is Hispanic at 50.7%. The next largest groups are White (24.4%) and Black (18.4%). 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 Estella 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 Estella at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino50.7% · 8,899
- White24.4% · 4,278
- Black or African American18.4% · 3,239
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 592
- Two or more races2.5% · 433
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 119
Gender
Gender distribution for Estella
Out of the 42,391 babies given the name Estella since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Estella as a male name
- Ranked #4,124 in 1966
- 5 male births in 1966
- Peak: 1935 (7 births)
Estella as a female name
- Ranked #501 in 2024
- 608 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1921 (638 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Estella appears almost entirely female. Of the 17,555 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Estella: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Estella from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 5,797 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Estella remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Estella 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 Estella during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Estellas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 44 states and territories. Texas, California, Mississippi recorded the most babies named Estella, while Montana, North Dakota, Delaware recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 665 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Estella
The name Estella has its origins in the Latin language, derived from the word "stella" meaning "star." It was a popular name during the Roman era and was often given to children born under auspicious celestial signs or events.
In the Middle Ages, the name Estella gained popularity in parts of Europe, particularly in Spain, France, and Italy. It was often associated with the Virgin Mary, who was frequently depicted with a crown of stars, representing her role as the "Star of the Sea" (Stella Maris).
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Saint Estella, a 12th-century Spanish nun and mystic, who founded the Monastery of Santa María de Valmala in Burgos, Spain. Her life and teachings were widely revered during the medieval period.
In literature, the name Estella gained prominence with the publication of Charles Dickens' novel "Great Expectations" in 1861. The character Estella, the adoptive daughter of the wealthy Miss Havisham, played a significant role in the story and helped popularize the name in English-speaking countries.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Estella. One of the earliest was Estella Canziani (1887-1964), an English artist and writer known for her paintings and illustrations. Another prominent figure was Estella Sylvia Pankhurst (1882-1960), a British campaigner for women's suffrage and a prominent member of the Women's Social and Political Union.
In the 20th century, Estella Massey Osborne (1901-1992) made history as the first African American woman to serve as a judge in the United States, appointed to the Municipal Court in Washington, D.C. in 1949. Estella Díaz (1926-2018), a Mexican actress and singer, also gained fame for her performances in numerous films and television shows.
Another notable bearer of the name was Estella Blain (1916-1959), an American actress and singer who appeared in several Broadway productions and Hollywood films in the 1940s and 1950s.
While the name Estella has retained its charm and elegance over the centuries, it has also undergone various spelling variations, such as Estella, Estelle, and Estrella, reflecting the cultural influences of different regions and languages.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Estella
People
Estella + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Estella 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
Estella: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Estella?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 16,148 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Estella 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 21,226 US residents.
Is Estella a common name?
We classify Estella as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 42,391 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Estella most popular?
The single biggest year for Estella was 1921, when 638 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Estella is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Estella in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 17,560 people with the name Estella, or 5.81 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,731 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 Estella 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 Estella?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Estella appears almost entirely female. Of the 17,555 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 Estella?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Estella is Hispanic at 50.7%. The next largest groups are White (24.4%) and Black (18.4%). 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 Estella most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Estella in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.7% (8,899 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 Estella in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Estella a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Estella 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 Estella still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Estella 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 Estella 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 Estella?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.