Zella is an old-fashioned American name of uncertain origin, usually read as a short form of names like Rozella or Marcella, or as a variant of Zelda, which means "gray fighting maid" or "blessed". It was common around 1900, faded for most of the 20th century and now feels like a vintage sister to Stella and Ella. Zella returned from near obscurity in 2000 to a peak of number 1271 in 2021 and ranks number 1746 among girls' names in 2025.