UK girl's name
Nella
A feminine name derived from Petronella, of Latin origins, meaning "rock".
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.
Nella is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Nella popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #736, with 51 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2019, with 60 births.
This profile covers 599 England and Wales registrations across 20 recorded years from 2002 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, 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.
The latest count is about 85% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 607 living people in the UK are called Nella. 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
- • Nella ranked #736 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 51 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2019, when 60 girls were registered as Nella.
- • Nella ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #424 in 2019.
- • About 607 living people in the UK are estimated to have Nella as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#736
2024
Births in 2024
51
Latest year
Peak year
2019
60 births
Estimated living
607
2026
Meaning
What does Nella mean?
Nella is a feminine given name with roots in several European languages. It is believed to have originated as a diminutive or pet form of the Italian name Aniela, which derives from the Greek name Anelia, itself a variation of the biblical name Ananias, meaning "favored by God" or "graced by the Lord".
The name Nella can also be traced back to the Slavic name Nela, a diminutive of the name Nadezhda, meaning "hope". This Slavic variant was popular in countries like Russia, Poland, and the Czech Republic, where it was sometimes spelled as Niela or Nela.
Another possible origin of the name Nella is the German diminutive form of the name Petronella, which itself is derived from the Latin name Petronius, meaning "related to stone". This German variant was commonly used in regions like Bavaria and Austria.
In ancient texts, the name Nella is not widely documented, but the name Anelia is mentioned in some Greek and Roman records, indicating its early use in those cultures.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Nella is Nella Barozzi (1590-1644), an Italian singer and composer who was renowned for her madrigals and sacred works. Another notable figure is Nella Larsen (1891-1964), an American novelist and writer of the Harlem Renaissance, best known for her novels "Quicksand" and "Passing".
Other historical figures with the name Nella include Nella Vučković (1909-1987), a Croatian writer and translator, and Nella Braddy Henney (1899-1984), an American lawyer and civil rights activist who fought for women's rights and racial equality.
In the realm of literature, the name Nella appears in several works, such as the character Nella in the novel "The Mill on the Floss" by George Eliot, and the protagonist Nella in the children's book series "Nella the Princess Knight" by Christine Ricci.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Nella over time
The chart below shows babies named Nella registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 2002 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 Nella, the clearest high point is 2019. The latest England and Wales figure is 51 births in 2024, compared with 60 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nella by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Nella 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 | #749 | 245 | 5 |
| 2010s | #1203 | 322 | 10 |
| 2000s | #3330 | 32 | 5 |
Geography
Where Nella is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Nella. 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.
Nella ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #424 in 2019.
Across the UK
Nella in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#531 in 2022
2 years of NRS records, 8 total registered
Northern Ireland (NISRA)
#424 in 2019
1 years of NISRA records, 3 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Nella
-
Nella Rose
model; YouTuber; media personality; radio personality
Belgian–British YouTuber and radio presenter
1997-
-
Nella Levy
Australian girl guides pioneer
1898-
-
Nella Last
diarist
British writer (1889–1968)
1889-1968
Related
Names similar to Nella
- Niamh 20,347
- Nicole 19,687
- Natasha 15,578
- Nancy 12,607
- Naomi 12,199
- Natalie 10,885
- Nevaeh 7,869
- Nina 7,285
- Neve 7,180
- Natalia 7,099
- Nadia 6,032
- Nicola 4,927
FAQ
Nella: questions and answers
How popular is the name Nella in the UK right now?
In 2024, Nella was ranked #736 for girls in England and Wales, with 51 births registered.
When was Nella most popular?
The peak year on record was 2019, with 60 babies registered as Nella in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Nella?
A feminine name derived from Petronella, of Latin origins, meaning "rock".
How many people are called Nella in the UK?
A total of 599 babies have been registered as Nella across the 20 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 8 more in Scotland and 3 in Northern Ireland.
Where is Nella most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Nella ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #424 in 2019. 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.