Idella
A feminine given name of Greek origin meaning "diminutive of Ida".
Name Census estimates that about 1,436 living Americans carry the first name Idella. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Idella today is around 65 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Idella births was 1921 (168 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Idella. 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
1.4K
~ 1 in 238,687 Americans
Peak year
1921
168 babies that year
Average age
65
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,154
Tracked since 1880
Census
Idella in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,567 people with the first name Idella, which placed it at #9,045 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
#9,045
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,567 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
61.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Idella
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Idella is Black at 61.1%. The next largest groups are White (32.1%) 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 Idella 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 Idella at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American61.1% · 958
- White32.1% · 503
- Two or more races3.4% · 53
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 3
Popularity
Idella: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Idella 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 1,460 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Idella 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 Idella during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Idellas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 21 states and territories. Mississippi, Georgia, Florida recorded the most babies named Idella, while California, Indiana, Wisconsin recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 127 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Idella
The name Idella has its origins in Greek and Latin roots, tracing back to ancient times. It is derived from the Greek word "idein," meaning "to see" or "to know," combined with the Latin diminutive suffix "-ella," creating a name that can be interpreted as "little seer" or "little knower."
In ancient Greek mythology, Idella was sometimes associated with the Muses, the goddesses of arts and sciences who were believed to inspire creativity and knowledge. This connection suggests that the name may have been bestowed upon individuals who were celebrated for their wisdom or artistic talents.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Idella appear in historical records from the Middle Ages, particularly in regions of Europe with strong Greek and Latin cultural influences. One notable bearer of the name was Idella of Boulogne, a 12th-century French noblewoman and crusader who participated in the Third Crusade alongside her husband, Renaud of Dammartin.
During the Renaissance period, the name Idella gained popularity among artists and scholars, perhaps reflecting the era's emphasis on classical learning and the rediscovery of ancient Greek and Roman texts. Idella Castiglioni, an Italian painter active in the 16th century, was renowned for her portraits and religious works.
As the name spread throughout Europe, it also found favor in literary circles. Idella Plüddemann was a 19th-century German author and poet, known for her romantic works that celebrated nature and the beauty of the German countryside.
In the realm of music, Idella Herrmann was a celebrated American opera singer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, renowned for her performances in operas by composers such as Verdi and Wagner.
Another notable figure was Idella Purnell Stone, an American paleontologist and geologist who made significant contributions to the study of prehistoric life in the early 20th century. Her research focused on the fossils of the Pacific Northwest region.
While the name Idella has roots in ancient languages and cultures, it has maintained a timeless quality, with individuals bearing this name making their mark across various fields throughout history, embodying the essence of knowledge, creativity, and insight.
People
Idella + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Idella as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Idella: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Idella?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,436 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Idella 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 238,687 US residents.
Is Idella a common name?
We classify Idella as "Rare". It ranks above 92.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,547 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Idella most popular?
The single biggest year for Idella was 1921, when 168 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Idella is about 65 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Idella in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,567 people with the name Idella, or 0.52 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,045 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 Idella 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 Idella?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Idella appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,565 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 Idella?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Idella is Black at 61.1%. The next largest groups are White (32.1%) 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 Idella most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Idella in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.1% (958 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 Idella in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Idella a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Idella 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 Idella still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Idella 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 Idella 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 Idella?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Idella on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.