NameCensus.

UK girl's name

Luella

A feminine name from French and English meaning "small fighter".

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Luella is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Luella popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #547, with 71 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2024, with 71 births.

This profile covers 702 England and Wales registrations across 27 recorded years from 1998 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

Luella is at its recorded peak in the England and Wales series.

We estimate that about 706 living people in the UK are called Luella. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Luella ranked #547 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 71 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2024, when 71 girls were registered as Luella.
  • Luella ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #638 in 2024.
  • About 706 living people in the UK are estimated to have Luella as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#547

2024

Births in 2024

71

Latest year

Peak year

2024

71 births

Estimated living

706

2026

Meaning

What does Luella mean?

Luella is a feminine given name of English origin, derived from the combination of the Germanic elements "leu" meaning "people" and "el" meaning "other". It emerged as a fashionable name in the late 19th century, particularly in the United States and Canada.

The name Luella can be traced back to the Old English name Luitela, which was composed of the elements "luit" meaning "fame" and "hild" meaning "battle". Over time, this evolved into various spellings such as Luytel, Luitel, and eventually Luella.

While there are no significant historical references or appearances in ancient texts, the name Luella gained popularity in the late 1800s and early 1900s. One of the earliest recorded examples is Luella Cooley (1858-1945), an American educator and advocate for the education of women.

Another notable bearer of the name was Luella Agnes Owen (1890-1967), a Canadian author and journalist. Her works included the novel "Chill Hours" and several collections of short stories.

In the field of entertainment, Luella Gear (1889-1966) was an American actress and vaudeville performer who appeared in various Broadway productions in the early 20th century.

Luella Hoskins (1876-1952) was an American artist known for her landscape paintings and portraits. Her works were exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and other prominent institutions.

The name Luella also found its way into the fashion industry with Luella Bartley (born 1974), a British fashion designer who launched her eponymous label in the late 1990s and gained recognition for her quirky and playful designs.

While the name Luella experienced a peak in popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it has since become less common. However, it remains a charming and distinctive name with a rich history and varied cultural associations.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Luella over time

The chart below shows babies named Luella registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1998 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Luella, the clearest high point is 2024. The latest England and Wales figure is 71 births in 2024, compared with 71 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Luella
018365371199820112024

Decades

Luella by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Luella was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2020s #741 257 5
2010s #1137 311 10
2000s #1944 128 10
1990s #3874 6 2

Geography

Where Luella is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Luella. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.

Luella ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #638 in 2024.

Scotland
4

Across the UK

Luella in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#638 in 2024

2 years of NRS records, 7 total registered

Notable bearers

Famous people named Luella

  • Luella Bartley

    journalist; fashion designer; editor; designer

    British fashion designer and journalist

    1974-

Related

Names similar to Luella

FAQ

Luella: questions and answers

How popular is the name Luella in the UK right now?

In 2024, Luella was ranked #547 for girls in England and Wales, with 71 births registered.

When was Luella most popular?

The peak year on record was 2024, with 71 babies registered as Luella in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Luella?

A feminine name from French and English meaning "small fighter".

How many people are called Luella in the UK?

A total of 702 babies have been registered as Luella across the 27 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 7 more in Scotland.

Where is Luella most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Luella ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #638 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.