Fun Facts About the Name Zela
- 609 babies named Zela: U.S. records list 609 babies given the name Zela from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Zela Mean?
Zela is a rare feminine given name with no securely documented etymology, so its meaning cannot be stated with confidence. In English-language use it sits alongside the similar-looking names Zella and Zelda, but there is no firm evidence that Zela developed from either of them, and similar spellings do not by themselves prove a shared origin.
Zela is also a documented place name from classical antiquity: a town in Pontus, in northern Anatolia, written in Greek as Zēla. The origin and meaning of that place name are likewise uncertain, and it belongs to ancient geography rather than to the personal name.
Zela Name History & Origins
Zela is best attested as a place name. It was a town in Pontus, in what is now northern Turkey, and it gave its name to the Battle of Zela in 47 BC, where Julius Caesar defeated Pharnaces II, king of Pontus. The speed of that victory was later recalled in the phrase veni, vidi, vici. The ancient site is generally identified with the modern town of Zile in Tokat Province.
As a personal name, Zela is uncommon and has no single documented line of descent. It has been used occasionally in the English-speaking world and appears in a few other language communities, but the surviving records do not show one clear origin or one route by which the name spread. The similar English name Zella has its own separate and equally uncertain history.
How Popular is the Name Zela?
Zela recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1916. Its best rank was #980 in 1897.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #8,852 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2024 | #15,218 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2023 | #15,156 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2022 | #9,657 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 2021 | #8,017 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 2020 | #12,115 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2019 | #9,722 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 2018 | #9,797 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2017 | #11,598 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2016 | #18,829 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2015 | #19,075 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2013 | #10,988 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2012 | #16,827 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2008 | #15,384 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1957 | #7,011 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1947 | #4,761 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1946 | #4,956 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1944 | #4,050 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1942 | #3,441 | 9 | 0.0007% |
| 1940 | #3,501 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1939 | #4,945 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1936 | #3,698 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1935 | #4,201 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1934 | #2,564 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1933 | #3,747 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1932 | #5,093 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1931 | #3,846 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1930 | #3,654 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1929 | #3,680 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1928 | #2,379 | 15 | 0.0013% |
| 1927 | #3,559 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1926 | #3,042 | 11 | 0.0009% |
| 1925 | #3,361 | 10 | 0.0008% |
| 1924 | #2,061 | 20 | 0.0016% |
| 1923 | #2,364 | 16 | 0.0013% |
| 1922 | #2,287 | 17 | 0.0014% |
| 1921 | #2,377 | 16 | 0.0013% |
| 1920 | #2,729 | 13 | 0.0011% |
| 1919 | #2,638 | 13 | 0.0012% |
| 1918 | #2,208 | 17 | 0.0015% |
| 1917 | #2,426 | 14 | 0.0013% |
| 1916 | #1,738 | 21 | 0.0020% |
| 1915 | #1,882 | 18 | 0.0018% |
| 1914 | #1,602 | 18 | 0.0024% |
| 1913 | #1,765 | 13 | 0.0021% |
| 1912 | #2,357 | 8 | 0.0014% |
| 1911 | #1,448 | 12 | 0.0029% |
| 1910 | #1,933 | 8 | 0.0020% |
| 1909 | #1,470 | 10 | 0.0029% |
| 1908 | #2,431 | 5 | 0.0015% |
| 1907 | #1,379 | 10 | 0.0031% |
| 1906 | #1,320 | 10 | 0.0034% |
| 1903 | #1,789 | 6 | 0.0023% |
| 1902 | #1,434 | 8 | 0.0030% |
| 1901 | #1,674 | 6 | 0.0025% |
| 1900 | #2,219 | 5 | 0.0017% |
| 1898 | #1,973 | 5 | 0.0019% |
| 1897 | #980 | 12 | 0.0051% |
| 1896 | #1,413 | 7 | 0.0029% |
| 1894 | #1,234 | 8 | 0.0036% |
| 1893 | #1,650 | 5 | 0.0023% |
| 1892 | #1,276 | 7 | 0.0033% |
| 1889 | #1,024 | 8 | 0.0045% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Zela Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have aspiration and inspiration, hope and guidance. Since you are intuitive and perceptive and you understand human nature. You have the power to achieve. Diplomacy and discretion make you a good mediator. You are inspired, introspective, and have a good understanding of the human heart. You can have the ability to commercialize your artistic talents successfully. You are often a mystery to others and to yourself. You are always reaching for something higher, without exactly knowing what that "higher" is. You have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Zela's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Zela's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.