Rhymes With Ella

Everything ella, from Ella to Bella to Arabella, is red hot right now. Bella is one of the most, well, beautiful girl names starting with B. It carried a hint of a nice Old World grandmotherly veneer, until it became attached to Twilight's Bella Swan.

This spelling variation of the Biblical place-name Sela is found on early American census roles, but Sela is more usual today. Cela is another early variation. Cella may also be a variation of Cilla, short for Priscilla, or Celia.

The beautiful Consuelo, with its compassionate meaning, is deserving of being used in full.

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.

This rare name crosses cultures. With the popularity of Ella and Bella, perhaps we'll hear more of Pella one day soon?

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.