Vella vs Velton
American parents have registered 2,283 Vellas since 1880, against 603 Veltons. Vella is still ahead, with 27 babies in 2025.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Vella Velton
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 120 years in which either name was published, Vella for 101 years and Velton for 19 years. The lead changed hands 12 times.
- 1882–1963 Vella ahead, apart from one short spell
- 1964–1981 Velton ahead, apart from 2 short spells
- 2005–2025 Vella ahead
7 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.
Side by side
| Vella | Velton | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 2,283 | 603 |
| Most in one year | 53 | 18 |
| Babies in 2025 | 27 | under 5 |
| Estimated living today | 760 | 250 |
| Median age today | 58 | 66 |
| Peak year | 1915 | 1931 |
| Best rank | 900th girls | 1,693rd boys |
| Rank in 2025 | 4,878th | unranked |
| First recorded | 1882 | 1912 |
| Girls / boys | 2,283 / 0 | 0 / 603 |
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 Veltons alive today are over 66; half the Vellas are over 58. That is 8 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Vella and Velton.