Sela
About Sela
Sela is a Biblical place name, the original term for the city of Petra, which is finding new life through actress Sela Ward, star of several TV series. The young daughter of singer Lauryn Hill is named Selah, pronounced the same but with a different derivation and meaning. Found among early African-American enslaved people, it was sometimes spelled Cela or Cella.
Pronounced SEL-ah.
As of October 2026, Sela ranked #4738 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #2048 in 2000.
Editor: Sophie Kihm
Sources: US popularity data is from the Social Security Administration. Meanings and origins are from Nameberry's name references.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #4,343 | 34 | 19 |
| 2015 | #4,836 | 29 | 16.2 |
| 2016 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | #3,486 | 45 | 26.5 |
| 2019 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | #4,173 | 35 | 21.6 |
| 2025 | #4,738 | 29 | 18 |
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Sela.
Sela on lists
Famous Selas
- Sela Ann Ward
American actress
Sela in pop culture
- Sela
a city in or near Moab (Isaiah 16:1)
- Sela
character on TV's "Star Trek"