Zella vs Zelma
American parents have registered 16,936 Zelmas since 1880, against 13,369 Zellas. But in 2025 it was Zella that was commoner, 117 babies to 16.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Zella Zelma
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 144 years in which either name was published, Zelma for 90 years and Zella for 54 years. The lead changed hands 14 times.
10 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.
Side by side
| Zella | Zelma | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 13,369 | 16,936 |
| Most in one year | 298 | 494 |
| Babies in 2025 | 117 | 16 |
| Estimated living today | 4,200 | 3,200 |
| Median age today | 16 | 75 |
| Peak year | 1917 | 1919 |
| Best rank | 363rd girls | 287th girls |
| Rank in 2025 | 1,733rd | 6,838th |
| First recorded | 1880 | 1880 |
| Girls / boys | 13,369 / 0 | 16,824 / 112 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Zelmas alive today are over 75; half the Zellas are over 16. That is 59 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Zella Kentucky (6.4×), Oklahoma (4.8×), West Virginia (4.4×)
- Zelma Arkansas (5.3×), Oklahoma (4.7×), Kentucky (4.6×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Zella and Zelma.