Della
Top 1000
About Della
Fresh, bright, and sunny, Della could be an alternative to Ella, Delilah, or Adeline. Familiar but not yet overused, it combines the elements of contemporary favorites with vintage charm.
With its noble meaning and associations with delight, Della was a popular choice in the 19th century and remained so up until the 1930s, when it slowly began to fall out of favor. It disappeared from the Top 1000 in 1978, but, after an absence of 40 years, it re-entered the charts in 2018.
This reappearance was perhaps partly inspired by actress and singer Della Reese, who died in 2017. This could have brought the name to the attention of a new generation of parents, and it has been climbing the US charts ever since.
As a diminutive of Adela or Adelaide (or perhaps Delphine, Madeline, or Idella), Della fits into the trend of nicknames as proper names, blending well with the likes of Mila, Josie, and Nora.
Given to 518 girls it a recent year, it sits in the US Top 600. A small caution, however, is that della does mean "from the" in Italian.
Pronounced DEHL-uh .
As of October 2026, Della ranked #563 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #60 in 1881, Nameberry popularity #268.
Editor's take: The name Della is a girl's name of German, English origin meaning "noble".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #1,249 | 194 | 108.6 |
| 2015 | #1,164 | 217 | 121.6 |
| 2016 | #1,051 | 248 | 140 |
| 2017 | #1,028 | 252 | 146 |
| 2018 | #864 | 314 | 184.6 |
| 2019 | #808 | 339 | 202 |
| 2020 | #916 | 284 | 175.7 |
| 2021 | #710 | 405 | 246.8 |
| 2022 | #658 | 449 | 273.8 |
| 2023 | #645 | 453 | 282.3 |
| 2024 | #580 | 518 | 319.7 |
| 2025 | #563 | 533 | 331.6 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Della.
- Luella
- Marnie
- Inez
- Lettie
- Maxine
- Tillie
- Margo
- Tess
- Lilibet
- Libby
- Loretta
- Nellie
- Margaux
- Essie
- Talullah
- Simone
- Mavis
- Darcy
- Gwyneth
- Lucie
Della on lists
Famous Dellas
- Della Reese (born Delloreese Patricia Early)
American actress, singer and TV personality
- Della May Fox
American singer and comedienne
- Della Monroe Grainger
grandmother of screen icon Marilyn Monroe
- Della Jones
Welsh mezzo,soprano
- Idella "Della" Thrasher Sehorn
American swimmer
- Della aka Ding Dang (born Wu Xian)
Chinese pop singer
- Della Rose Joel
daughter of Billy Joel & Alexis Roderick
- Della Eaves (b. 2012)
daughter of ice hockey player Patrick Eaves
Della in pop culture
- Della
main character in "The Gift of the Magi" (1906) by O. Henry
- Della Duck
twin sister of Donald Duck; mother to his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie
- Della Street
secretary character in the Perry Mason series
- Della Frye
character in movie "State of Play"
- Della Michaelson
character in "The Orchardist" by Amanda Coplin
- Della Alexander
character on British soap "EastEnders"
- Della Chappell
main character in 1964 TV movie "Della"
- Della Falls on Vancouver Island
Canada, named after the wife of the man who discovered them in 1899
- Della
Italian preposition
- Della
character on TV series 'Raised by Wolves'
- Adaline "Della" Bowman
titular character in the film Age of Adaline (2015)
- Della Vacker
character in "Keeper of the Lost Cities" by Shannon Messenger