Rella
A feminine name likely derived from the Italian "rella", meaning "little sister".
Name Census estimates that about 329 living Americans carry the first name Rella. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rella today is around 58 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rella births was 1921 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rella. 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
329
~ 1 in 1,041,806 Americans
Peak year
1921
26 babies that year
Average age
58
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,856
Tracked since 1880
Census
Rella in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 474 people with the first name Rella, which placed it at #21,431 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
#21,431
National first-name rank
People counted
474
474 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rella
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rella is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Rella 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 Rella at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.7% · 392
- Black or African American10.5% · 50
- Two or more races2.3% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 7
Popularity
Rella: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rella 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 236 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
Rella 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 Rella during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rellas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Kentucky, Maine, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Rella, while Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Maine recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rella
The name Rella has its origins in the Italian language, tracing back to the late medieval period around the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Latin word "aurelia," meaning "golden" or "gilded," suggesting a connection to wealth, opulence, and radiance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rella can be found in the chronicles of the Florentine Republic, where a noblewoman named Rella di Firenze (1275-1341) was renowned for her charitable endeavors and patronage of the arts. Her legacy lives on in the frescoes adorning the Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence.
In the 15th century, the name gained prominence with the birth of Rella Orsini (1436-1509), a member of the influential Orsini family and a notable figure in the Italian Renaissance. Renowned for her intellect and cultural patronage, she hosted salons attended by scholars, artists, and philosophers of the time.
The name Rella also appears in the annals of the Catholic Church, with Sister Rella Maria Ricci (1522-1588), a nun and mystic who founded the Order of the Most Holy Annunciation in Italy. Her devotion to spiritual pursuits and acts of charity earned her a reputation for piety and saintliness.
In the realm of literature, the name Rella gained recognition through the character of Rella Garzia, the protagonist of the 17th-century novel "La Vita di Rella Garzia" by Italian author Giambattista Basile. The novel explored themes of love, betrayal, and redemption, cementing Rella's place in the literary canon.
Another notable figure bearing the name Rella was the Italian painter Rella Fiorentino (1678-1744), whose works adorned the walls of churches and palaces across Italy. Her mastery of the Baroque style and her ability to capture the essence of her subjects earned her widespread acclaim during her lifetime.
While the name Rella may not be as widely used today as it once was, its rich history and cultural significance remain a testament to its enduring charm and the stories it has woven throughout the centuries.
People
Rella + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rella as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Rella: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rella?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 329 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rella 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 1,041,806 US residents.
Is Rella a common name?
We classify Rella as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,313 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rella most popular?
The single biggest year for Rella was 1921, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rella is about 58 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rella in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 474 people with the name Rella, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,431 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 Rella 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 Rella?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rella appears almost entirely female. Of the 482 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 Rella?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rella is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Rella most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rella in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.7% (392 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 Rella in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rella a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rella 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 Rella still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rella 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 Rella 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 Rella?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.