Ursela
A feminine given name derived from the Latin name Ursula, meaning "little bear".
Name Census estimates that about 31 living Americans carry the first name Ursela. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ursela today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ursela births was 1969 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ursela. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ursela. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
31
~ 1 in 11,056,592 Americans
Peak year
1969
7 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
1990 SSA rank
#15,163
Tracked since 1966
Popularity
Ursela: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ursela from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 18 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
Ursela 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 Ursela during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ursela
The name Ursela has its roots in the Germanic language and culture, dating back to the medieval period. It is a feminine form of the masculine name Ursel, which is derived from the Germanic root word "urs," meaning "bear." This association with bears likely stems from the reverence and respect held for these powerful animals in ancient Germanic cultures.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ursela can be found in the 11th century, when it was mentioned in the Codex Traditionum Corbeiensium, a medieval manuscript that documented the history of the Benedictine abbey of Corvey in present-day Germany. This suggests that the name was already in use during this time period.
In the 12th century, Ursela appeared as the name of a nun in the Benedictine monastery of St. Walburg in Eichstätt, Bavaria. Her life and deeds were recorded in the monastery's chronicles, providing an early historical reference to this name.
Moving forward to the 14th century, Ursela von Diepholz was a notable figure who held the title of Abbess of the Cistercian convent in Loccum, Lower Saxony, from 1337 to 1348. Her leadership and influence during this period contributed to the spread and recognition of the name Ursela within religious circles.
In the 16th century, Ursela Benger (born around 1490, exact dates unknown) was a German artist and painter known for her intricate woodcut illustrations, which adorned various works of literature and religious texts. Her artistic contributions helped to further cement the name's presence in the cultural landscape of the time.
Another notable figure with the name Ursela was Ursela Freiin von Gemming (1643-1722), a German noblewoman and horticulturist who is credited with introducing numerous plant species to Europe from her extensive travels. Her passion for horticulture and her contributions to the study of plants left a lasting impact on the field.
While the name Ursela has its origins in the Germanic regions, it has also been adopted and used in various other cultures and languages over time, though its popularity has waned in recent centuries.
People
Ursela + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ursela as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with U
Other first names starting with U with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ursela: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ursela?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 31 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ursela 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 11,056,592 US residents.
Is Ursela a common name?
We classify Ursela as "Very Rare". It ranks above 47% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 35 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ursela most popular?
The single biggest year for Ursela was 1969, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ursela is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ursela a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ursela 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.
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.