Fontella
A variant of the Italian name Fontana, meaning "small fountain" or "small spring".
Name Census estimates that about 319 living Americans carry the first name Fontella. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Fontella today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fontella births was 1966 (104 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fontella. 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.
People living today
319
~ 1 in 1,074,465 Americans
Peak year
1966
104 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
1990 SSA rank
#11,860
Tracked since 1900
Census
Fontella in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 406 people with the first name Fontella, which placed it at #23,937 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
#23,937
National first-name rank
People counted
406
406 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
69.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fontella
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fontella is Black at 69.2%. The next largest groups are White (25.1%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Fontella 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 Fontella at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American69.2% · 281
- White25.1% · 102
- Two or more races3.4% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 2
Popularity
Fontella: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fontella from the 1900s through to the 1990s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 233 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fontella 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 Fontella during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Fontellas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. Georgia, Alabama, Illinois recorded the most babies named Fontella, while South Carolina, Ohio, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Fontella
The name Fontella has its roots in the Italian language and can be traced back to the late 19th century. It is believed to be derived from the Italian word "fonte," which means "fountain" or "source." The name was likely inspired by the beauty and serenity of natural springs and waterfalls.
One of the earliest known instances of the name Fontella can be found in the records of a small village in northern Italy from the 1880s. It was given to a baby girl born to a family of farmers, perhaps reflecting their appreciation for the life-giving properties of water in their agricultural community.
Throughout the early 20th century, the name Fontella gained some popularity in Italy, particularly in rural areas where the connection to nature and water sources held significant cultural and practical importance. However, it remained a relatively uncommon name outside of certain regions.
Historically, there are a few notable individuals who bore the name Fontella. One of the earliest was Fontella Moneta, an Italian poet and writer who lived in the late 15th century. Her works, though not widely known today, were celebrated in her time for their lyrical beauty and exploration of themes related to nature and the human experience.
In more recent history, Fontella Bass (1940-2012) was an American singer and songwriter best known for her hit "Rescue Me" in 1965. Her rich, soulful voice and captivating stage presence earned her a place in the annals of rhythm and blues music.
Another notable Fontella was Fontella Treadwell (1907-1986), an American educator and advocate for equal rights. She dedicated her life to promoting educational opportunities for underprivileged communities and played a pivotal role in the desegregation of schools in her home state of North Carolina.
While not a household name, Fontella Moniz (1923-2003) was a respected artist in her native Portugal. Her vibrant paintings, often depicting scenes of daily life and the natural landscapes of her country, earned her recognition and numerous exhibitions throughout her career.
Finally, Fontella Jacobsen (1919-2004) was a Norwegian journalist and author who gained acclaim for her insightful reporting on social and political issues. Her work shed light on important topics and helped shape public discourse in Norway during the latter half of the 20th century.
People
Fontella + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fontella as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Fontella: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fontella?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 319 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fontella 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 1,074,465 US residents.
Is Fontella a common name?
We classify Fontella as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 589 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fontella most popular?
The single biggest year for Fontella was 1966, when 104 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fontella is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Fontella in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 406 people with the name Fontella, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,937 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 Fontella 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 Fontella?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Fontella appears almost entirely female. Of the 408 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Fontella?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fontella is Black at 69.2%. The next largest groups are White (25.1%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Fontella most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Fontella in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.2% (281 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 Fontella in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Fontella a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Fontella 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 Fontella still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Fontella 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 Fontella 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 Fontella as a first name?
Find out how many people share the name Fontella on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.