Holding steady, #14,942 for girls today.
Popularity of Ula since 1880
Babies named Ula per year in U.S. Social Security records. Raw births topped out in 1924, but relative to how few babies were recorded back then, Ula's real moment was 1898.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 45 |
| 1890s | 84 |
| 1900s | 122 |
| 1910s | 281 |
| 1920s | 400 |
| 1930s | 211 |
| 1940s | 135 |
| 1950s | 88 |
| 1960s | 52 |
| 1970s | 42 |
| 1980s | 8 |
| 1990s | 6 |
| 2000s | 60 |
| 2010s | 56 |
| 2020s | 28 |
Meaning & origin
Ula is a short, soft-sounding name that has appeared in U.S. naming records since 1880. Its popularity peaked in 1898, and as of 2025 it ranks 14,942, with approximately 1 in 321,453 newborns given the name. Over the decades, usage has remained steady but rare, never reaching widespread adoption. The name's origins are debated, with possible connections to Latin through Ursula or Irish through Úna, reflecting the movement of names between cultures. Ula's scarcity gives it a distinctive quality today, a quiet choice for parents seeking something simple and uncommon.
The name Ula has multiple possible origins. It may be a diminutive of Ursula, derived from Latin ursa "bear," a name popularized by early Christian saints. Alternatively, it could be an Anglicized form of the Irish name Úna, meaning "lamb," or a short form of names like Eula or Lula. Ula first appeared in U.S. birth records in 1880, reflecting a trend for short, vowel-heavy names at that time.
Nicknames & variants
Variants: Yula, Oola
Sibling names for Ula
Names that share Ula's style, for a brother or sister.
