Stella is a female given name. It is derived from the Latin word for star. It has been in use in English-speaking countries since it was first used by Philip Sidney in Astrophel and Stella, his 1580s sonnet sequence. Use might also have increased due to Stella Maris as a title for the Virgin Mary by Catholics. Alternately, it is a feminine version of the Greek name Stylianos, meaning pillar.
Contents
Popularity
Stella has been well-used in countries where Germanic and Romance languages are spoken: England and Italy themselves, and especially Anglophone Africa and Latin America.
List of people with the given name Stella
Arts and entertainment
Stella, stage name of Stella Huang, Singaporean singer-actress
Stella Abrera (born 1978), Filipino-American ballet dancer
Stella Adler (1901–1992), American actress and acting teacher
Stella Arbenina (1884–1976), Russian-born actress
Stella Bennett or Benee (born 2000), New Zealand singer-songwriter
Stella Benson (1892–1933), English feminist, travel writer, and novelist
Stella Blandy (1836–1925), French woman of letters, feminist
Stella Bowen (1893–1947), Australian artist
Stella Brennan (born 1974), New Zealand artist, curator, and essayist
Stella Chitty (1928–2005), British stage manager
Stella Chiweshe (1946–2023), Zimbabwean musician
Stella Corkery (born 1960), New Zealand artist and musician
Stella Dadzie (born 1952), British writer, historian, educationalist and activist
Stella Feehily (born 1969), London-born Irish playwright and actress
Stella Miles Franklin (1879–1954), Australian novelist
Stella Jones (singer) (born 1971), German soul and jazz singer, pianist, arranger and composer
Sports
Stella Ashcroft (born 2002), gymnast from New Zealand
Stella Barsosio (born 1993), Kenyan long-distance runner
Stella Boumi (born 1988), Greek swimmer
Stella Heiß (born 1993), German curler
Stella de Heij (born 1968), Dutch field hockey goalkeeper
Stela Posavec (born 1996), Croatian handball player
Stella Pilatou (born 1980), Greek long jumper
Stella Rutto (born 1996), Romanian steeplechaser
Stella Tsikouna (born 1972), Greek discus thrower
Stella Zakharova (born 1963), Olympic gymnast for the former Soviet Union
Politics
Stella Ambler (born 1966), Canadian politician
Stella Creasy (born 1977), British Member of Parliament
Stella Dupont (born 1973), French Member of Parliament
Stella Garza-Hicks (born 1953), former Republican legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado
Stella Goldschlag (1922–1994), German Jewish woman who collaborated with the Gestapo during World War II
Stella Gherman (born 1974), Moldovan Member of Parliament
Stella Isaacs, Marchioness of Reading (1894–1971), British political and military figure
Stella Jantuan (born 1966), Moldovan politician
Stella Levy (1924–1999), Israeli soldier and politician
Stella Oduah-Ogiemwonyi (born 1962), Nigerian Minister of Aviation
Stella Maris Olalla (born 1943), Argentine politician
Stella Omu (born 1946), Nigerian politician
Stella Sigcau (1937–2006), Minister in the South African government and first female prime minister of the Transkei
Other
Stella Baruk (born 1932), Iranian-born French teacher, mathematician, author and educationalist
Stella Burry (1897–1991), Canadian activist
Stella Cunliffe (1917–2012), British statistician
Stella Din-Jacob, Nigerian media executive, broadcast journalist, lawyer and Director of News at TVC Communications
Stella Immanuel (born 1965), Cameroonian-American physician, author, and pastor
Stella Koutros, American cancer epidemiologist
Stella Liebeck, American plaintiff in the "McDonald's coffee case"
Stella Manzie (born 1960), British public servant and civil servant
Stella Márquez (born 1937), Colombian beauty queen and first Miss International
Stella Mary Newton (1901–2001), English fashion designer and dress historian
Stella Mason (c.1901?–1918), Muscogee/Creek freedman, subject to a known lawsuit over an estate
Stella Maxwell (born 1990), Northern Irish fashion model
Stella McCartney (born 1971), British fashion designer
Stella Nickell (born 1943), American murderer
Stella Nyanzi (born 1974), Ugandan human rights activist
Fictional characters
Stella (Winx Club), one of the main characters of Winx Club
Stella, a main character in ToddWorld
Stella, a main character in Stella and Sam
Stella a female snow goose who is Boris' girlfriend and appears in Balto III: Wings of Change
Stella, female protagonist of an anime movie Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem
Stella of the Ars Goetia, a character in the animated series Helluva Boss, voiced by Georgina Leahy
Stella Bains, a character from the movie Back to the Future
Stella Bonasera, character in CSI: NY
Stella Bonnaro, character in Cowboy Bebop
Stella Chernak, character in the TV drama Peyton Place
Stella the Storyteller, fictional character from the TV series Barney & Friends
Stella Crawford, character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders
Stella Dagostino, character in Rush
Stella Grayber, a character in Poppy Playtime
Stella Kidd, character in the TV drama “Chicago Fire”
Stella Kowalski, character in the play A Streetcar Named Desire
Name day
Hungary : 14 July
Latvia : 25 December
Bulgaria : 26 November
Czech Republic : 4 March
Italy : 11 May
Sweden : 15 August
France : 11 May