stehl-AHN; STEHL-lan
Stellan
About Stellan
Stellan is a strong, attractive, Scandinavian possible up-and-comer, known through actor Stellan Skarsgard, and his namesake, the son of Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany. Its trendy 'an' ending and the similarity in sound to the popular Kellen/Kellan make it all the more accessible.
While it sounds like it should be connected to stellar, it is more likely derived from the Old Norse stilling meaning "calm". Another possibility is from the Romanian Stelian and the Greek Stelios, meaning "pillar", or from the German stelle and stellen meaning "place, site" or "arrange".
Nevertheless, it has a touch of celestial charm that is appealing to more and more American parents. In 2023, it was given to 121 boys (and 6 girls) — nearly double the number of Stellans born in the US a decade early.
Pronounced stehl-AHN; STEHL-lan.
As of October 2026, Stellan ranked #1140 in US births in 2025 SSA, Nameberry popularity #90.
Editor's take: The name Stellan is a boy's name of Swedish origin meaning "calm".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #2,134 | 65 | 33.8 |
| 2015 | #1,702 | 92 | 48 |
| 2016 | #1,901 | 78 | 41.1 |
| 2017 | #1,856 | 80 | 43.2 |
| 2018 | #1,935 | 77 | 42.4 |
| 2019 | #1,604 | 104 | 58 |
| 2020 | #1,670 | 96 | 55.6 |
| 2021 | #1,527 | 116 | 66.3 |
| 2022 | #1,769 | 94 | 53.8 |
| 2023 | #1,485 | 121 | 70.7 |
| 2024 | #1,441 | 126 | 73.1 |
| 2025 | #1,140 | 186 | 108.9 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Stellan.
Famous Stellans
- Stellan John Skarsgård
Swedish actor
- Stellan Wahlström
Swedish singer
- Stellan Bengtsson
Swedish table tennis player
- Stellan Westerdahl
Swedish Olympic sailor
- (Paul) Stellan Valter Olsson
Swedish film director
- Stellan Bojerud
Swedish politician
- Stellan Nilsson
Swedish footballer
- Stellan Bettany (b. 2003)
son of Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly