Stella

Latin
"star"

Stella Origin and Meaning

The name Stella is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "star".

Stella is a name with star quality and sparkle, that manages to sound both ethereal and earthy. Celestial but not otherworldly, it lands somewhere between the popular Ella and bold Seraphina.

The name Stella was derived from stella, the Latin word for “star”. It was coined by the poet, Sir Philip Sidney who used it in his 1590 sonnet collection, Astrophel and Stella, which translates literally to “the star lover and his star.”

While Astrophel has remained obscure, Stella came into common usage in the 1800s. Inspired perhaps by its similarity to Ella and Esther, and by its association with the Virgin Mary, from her Catholic title, Stella Maris, it was popular in the early decades of the 20th century.

After fading in the 70s, Stella is now back and brighter than ever. Following on the heels of Gabriella and Isabella, it ranks in the US Top 50 and is given to almost 5000 babies each year. With equally astronomical Luna now making the Top 10, Stella might rise even higher.

Stella holds international appeal too and has taken shining spots on the charts in Switzerland, Sweden, Australia, Italy, and France.

The name Stella was famously bellowed by Marlon Brando in Tennessee William’s A Streetcar Named Desire, and it has proved a popular choice among celebrities, including Matt Damon, Ellen Pompeo, Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott, and Gena Lee Nolin.

Designer and animal rights activist Stella McCartney is another notable namesake, as is Stella Adler, an influential acting teacher.

If Stella is shining for you but it’s not quite the brightest star on your list, then you could consider its variants, the literary Estella, or the French Estelle. Alternatively, you might like another starry name, such as Astraea, Seren, or Izara, or something just equally celestial, like Elara, Celia, or Celeste.

# 46 in the US

Stella Rank in US Top 1000

# 51 on Nameberry

Stella Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Stella Popularity

Famous People Named Stella

  • Stella Adler
    American actress and acting teacher
  • Stella Dorothea Gibbons
    English actress
  • Estelle Caro "Stella" (Eggleston) Stevens
    American actress
  • Stella Nina McCartney
    English fashion designer, daughter of musician Paul McCartney
  • Stella Mae Parton
    American singer,songwriter, sister of singer Dolly Parton
  • Stella Hudgens
    American actress, sister of actress Vanessa Hudgens
  • Stella Huang
    (born Stella Ng), Singaporean pop singer
  • Stella Gonet
    Scottish actress
  • Stella Maessen
    Dutch singer
  • Stella Obasanjo
    First Lady of Nigeria
  • Stella Soleil
    American pop singer
  • Stella Tennant
    English model
  • Stella Vander
    French singer
  • Stella Cornelia
    Indonesian singer
  • Stella Maynes Maxwell
    Northern Irish,New Zealand model
  • Stella Keitel (b. 1985)
    daughter of actors Harvey Keitel and Lorraine Bracco
  • Stella Breeze Baker (b. 1993)
    daughter of actors Simon Baker and Rebecca Rigg
  • Stella del Carmen Banderas (b. 1996)
    daughter of actors Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas
  • Stella Ritter (b. 1998)
    daughter of actors John Ritter and Amy Yasbeck
  • Stella Irene August Aykroyd (b. 1998)
    daughter of actors Dan Aykroyd and Donna Dixon
  • Stella Busina Matthews (b. 2001)
    daughter of musician Dave Matthews; twin sister Grace Anne
  • Stella Street (b. 2001)
    daughter of actress Elisabeth Shue
  • Stella Gregg (b. 2001)
    daughter of actors Clark Gregg and Jennifer Grey
  • Stella Huston (b. 2003)
    daughter of director Danny Huston; niece of actress Anjelica Huston
  • Stella Shannon Chesnut (b. 2003)
    daughter of actress Molly Shannon and artist Fritz Chesnut
  • Stella Mae Vincent (b. 2004)
    daughter of actress Peri Gilpin and artist Christian Vincent; twin of sister Ava Pearl Vincent
  • Stella Klim (b. 2006)
    daughter of swimmer Michael Klim
  • Stella Rose Elizabeth Schweain (b. 2007)
    daughter of singer Kristin Swinford of ZOEGirl and Ryan Schweain
  • Stella Monroe Hulse (b. 2008)
    daughter of actress Gena Lee Nolin and ice hockey player Cale Hulse
  • Stella Doreen McDermott (b. 2009)
    daughter of actors Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott
  • Stella Ruby Urich (b. 2009)
    daughter of TV host Kari Byron and Paul Urich
  • Stella Luna Pompeo Ivery (b. 2009)
    daughter of actress Ellen Pompeo
  • Stella Jean Saliman (b. 2010)
    daughter of actress Bree Turner and Justin Saliman
  • Stella Zavala Damon (b. 2010)
    daughter of actor Matt Damon
  • Stella Haven Walsh (b. 2011)
    daughter of actor Dylan Walsh
  • Stella Alzner (b. 2014)
    daughter of ice hockey player Karl Alzner
  • Stella June Coleman (b. 2014)
    daughter of singer Holly Williams and Chris Coleman; granddaughter of singer Hank Williams, Jr.
  • Stella Star (b. 2017)
    daughter of American reality television star Briana DeJesus

Stella in Pop Culture

  • Stella Kowalski
    character in Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire"
  • Stella Maynard
    character in the Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery
  • Stella Payne
    main character in film "How Stella Got Her Groove Back"
  • Stella Gibson
    character on TV's "The Fall"
  • Stella
    the nurse in film "Rear Window"
  • Stella Bonasera
    character on TV's "CSI: NY"
  • Stella Malone
    character on TV's "Jonas"
  • Stella Yamada
    character in Disney Channel movie "Lemonade Mouth"
  • Stella Zinman
    character on TV's "How I Met Your Mother"
  • Stella
    character on animated series "Hey Arnold"
  • Stella
    character on animated series "Winx Club"
  • Stella Abbott
    character on TV's "Life Sentence"
  • "Stella
    " pseudonym of Celinda Toobad in Thomas Love Peacock's "Nightmare Abbey" (1818)
  • Stella
    Naylithian character in video game "Aveyond RPG"
  • Stella Benicia
    character in the Mara Dyer trilogy by Michelle Hodkin
  • Stella DuBois
    character in the book Gone Too Far by Natalie D. Richards
  • Stella
    Pearl's dead mother from the novel 'The Year of The Rat'
  • Stella Carlin
    character on 'Orange Is the New Black'
  • Stella Nickleby
    baby on TV's Mistresses
  • Stella
    lead character in the cartoon "Stella and Sam"
  • Stella Samuel
    character in 'The Heartbreakers' by Ali Novak
  • Stella
    character in the game "Minecraft: Story Mode , Season Two"
  • "Stella
    " children's book by Janell Cannon about the titular fruit bat
  • "Stella and Sam
    " children's book by Marie Louise Gay and TV series
  • "Stella
    " song by All Time Low
  • "Bella Stella
    " song by Highland
  • "Stella Blue
    " song by the Grateful Dead
  • "Stella
    " song by Ida Maria
  • Stella Artois
    a brand of beer
  • Stella Doro
    brand of packaged cookies
  • Stella Rose Buckley
    character on Netflix series "Insatiable"