Girl's name
Nela
Say it NEH-lah
Used in Polish and Czech 2 syllables
Where Nela is loved, common and rare
Common across Poland and one more place. Rare in four German cities, Slovenia, the Netherlands and seven more places.
1 in 4,225 girls born in Ireland in 2025
Poland 25thSlovenia 232ndBerlin 339th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 15 of the 40 official lists, among them Poland (25th), Slovenia (232nd) and Berlin (339th).
Show all 15 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poland | 25th 2025 | 1,605 | 1 in 75 |
| Slovenia | 232nd 2025 | 5 | about 1 in 1,322 |
| Berlin city | 339th 2023 | 9 | about 1 in 1,612 |
| The Netherlands | 392nd 2025 | 51 | about 1 in 1,196 |
| Switzerland | 409th 2025 | 17 | 1 in 2,000 |
| Cologne city | 419th 2023 | 2 | about 1 in 3,072 |
| Austria | 438th 2025 | 11 | 1 in 3,247 |
| Ireland | 608th 2025 | 5 | 1 in 4,225 |
| Sweden | 782nd 2025 | 6 | about 1 in 6,695 |
| England and Wales | 807th 2025 | 45 | 1 in 5,628 |
| France | 3366th 2025 | 10 | 1 in 28,679 |
| Italy | 4773rd 2024 | 1 | 1 in 179,169 |
| Rostock city | 92nd 2025 | 2 | about 1 in 492 |
| Leipzig city | 212th 2025 | 2 | about 1 in 1,312 |
| Bonn city | 382nd 2025 | 1 | about 1 in 3,015 |
Rare, below the listed names: Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, New Zealand, Munich, Norway, Spain, Catalonia, Hungary and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Sources: Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji, rejestr PESEL (dane.gov.pl) (Poland); Statistični urad Republike Slovenije (SURS), SiStat (Slovenia); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (the Netherlands); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock (opendata-hro.de) (Rostock); Stadt Leipzig, Standesamt (opendata.leipzig.de) (Leipzig); Bundesstadt Bonn, Standesamt (opendata.bonn.de) (Bonn). How we count, and every source
About the name
Nela is used in Polish and Czech, and it is a shortened form of names such as Kornélia and Petronela. No meaning is given, so it is best understood as a short, friendly form taken from those longer names.
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Two syllables, said NEH-lah, with the stress on the first. Nella, Nelly, Nell, Nele and Nelli are similar short forms.
Poland is where it is most popular, as a top-30 name for girls. It is also used in Slovenia and the Netherlands, and in smaller numbers in Ireland and England and Wales. French records show it reaching a peak in 2022, although it is falling in more regions than it is rising, so its growth may be levelling off.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- NEH-lah, 2 syllables
- Used in
- Polish and Czech
- Other spellings
- Nella
- Nelly
- Nell
- Nelli
- Nele
- Manuela
- Nelinka
- Antonela
- Antonie
Etymology
Shortened form of names like Kornélia, Petronela, etc.
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 2 of 12 regions, falling in 6.
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Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 676 | 609 | 587 | 513 | 631 | 521 | 671 | 794 | 751 | 807 |
| Scotland | 585 | 666 | 348 | 343 | 765 | 760 | 342 | 638 | ||
| Northern Ireland | 434 | 298 | ||||||||
| Ireland | 335 | 471 | 299 | 296 | 410 | 661 | 317 | 727 | 556 | 608 |
| France | 3683 | 2024 | 2516 | 3634 | 3605 | 2509 | 2504 | 3521 | 3443 | 3366 |
| The Netherlands | 788 | 586 | 510 | 461 | 379 | 444 | 447 | 430 | 392 | |
| Austria | 208 | 411 | 316 | 374 | 332 | 339 | 292 | 286 | 330 | 438 |
| Switzerland | 445 | 407 | 316 | 228 | 262 | 350 | 319 | 319 | 438 | 409 |
| Berlin | 847 | 281 | 352 | 233 | 210 | 325 | 468 | 339 | ||
| Munich | 260 | 137 | 200 | |||||||
| Cologne | 370 | 219 | 145 | 238 | 320 | 170 | 213 | 419 | ||
| Bonn | 365 | 134 | 221 | 357 | 186 | 392 | 176 | 141 | 382 | |
| Leipzig | 193 | 263 | 186 | 191 | 201 | 254 | 163 | 178 | 212 | |
| Rostock | 202 | 133 | 122 | 174 | 158 | 92 | ||||
| Sweden | 782 | |||||||||
| Poland | 48 | 42 | 40 | 33 | 32 | 31 | 28 | 24 | 25 | 25 |
| Slovenia | 171 | 199 | 157 | 168 | 223 | 232 |
England and Wales, 2005 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 807 | 45 | 17.8 |
| 2024 | 751 | 50 | 19.4 |
| 2023 | 794 | 45 | 17.5 |
| 2022 | 671 | 56 | 21.3 |
| 2021 | 521 | 78 | 28.5 |
| 2020 | 631 | 60 | 22.4 |
| 2019 | 513 | 79 | 28.2 |
| 2018 | 587 | 70 | 24.3 |
| 2017 | 609 | 69 | 23.1 |
| 2016 | 676 | 62 | 20.2 |
| 2015 | 809 | 47 | 15.3 |
| 2014 | 859 | 44 | 14.3 |
| 2013 | 1075 | 33 | 10.7 |
| 2012 | 1150 | 29 | 9.0 |
| 2011 | 1374 | 22 | 6.8 |
| 2010 | 1429 | 21 | 6.5 |
| 2009 | 1411 | 20 | 6.4 |
| 2008 | 2487 | 9 | 2.9 |
| 2007 | 1741 | 14 | 4.6 |
| 2006 | 4157 | 4 | 1.3 |
| 2005 | 3382 | 5 | 1.7 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
France since 1925
Half of the babies named Nela in France since 1925 were born in or after 2017. First recorded in 1981. Her peak year there: 2022, at 4.6 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Nela per 100,000 girls born in France, by five-year period. Her 2022 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (1900-2025), Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.
Sister names for Nela
1 in 3,018 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Nela.
1 in 5,964 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Nela.
Similar forms, not dealt separately: Rozalia.
1 in 4,225 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Nela.
1 in 3,521 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Nela.
1 in 7,042 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Nela.
1 in 5,964 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Nela.
1 in 14,899 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Nela.
1 in 4,473 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Nela.
1 in 5,964 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Nela.
1 in 7,042 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Nela.
Middle names for Nela
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Nela Grace
2-1 beats · initials NG
Changes the beat after Nela: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Nela Olivia
2-4 beats · initials NO · Nela slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Nela: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables. Nela slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 99 in Scotland
Nela Sophia
2-3 beats · initials NS
Changes the beat after Nela: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 311 in Ireland
Nela Maria
2-3 beats · initials NM
Changes the beat after Nela: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Nela Rose
2-1 beats · initials NR
Changes the beat after Nela: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Nela Emily
2-3 beats · initials NE · Nela slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Nela: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables. Nela slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Nela Julia
2-3 beats · initials NJ
Changes the beat after Nela: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 1,286 in England and Wales
Nela Miriam
2-3 beats · initials NM
Changes the beat after Nela: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
Same style as Nela
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 4,473 in Scotland
92% alike: moves with Nela across countries and decades.
1 in 3,018 in Ireland
89% alike: moves with Nela across countries and decades.
1 in 12,061 in England and Wales
88% alike: moves with Nela across countries and decades.
1 in 5,964 in Scotland
87% alike: moves with Nela across countries and decades.
1 in 7,042 in Ireland
87% alike: moves with Nela across countries and decades.
1 in 4,473 in Scotland
87% alike: moves with Nela across countries and decades.
1 in 63,320 in England and Wales
86% alike: moves with Nela across countries and decades.
1 in 9,742 in England and Wales
86% alike: moves with Nela across countries and decades.
Famous people named Nela
Nela Pocisková, Nela Eržišnik and Nela The Little Reporter.
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-
Slovak actress and singer born 1990
-
Croatian actress and comedian (1922-2007)
-
Nela (born in 2005) – traveler, author of travel books and TV programs born 2006
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Nela
4 questions, on how popular she is, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
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How popular is Nela?
Her best rank is No. 25 in Poland in 2025, about 1 in 75 girls. She is in the published lists of 15 of our 40 regions.
How do you pronounce Nela?
NEH-lah, with 2 syllables.
Is Nela getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 2 of 12 regions, falling in 6.
Which sister names go with Nela?
The deck's top five sisters for Nela: Alicja, Roza, Sofija, Kornelia and Marcelina. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.