Comments (Meaning / History Only)
Zella is Bobangi and means 'one who knows the way'.
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Popular name at the end of the 19th early 20th century, during the peak of Slavic migration to the United States. Diminutive of the name Zala (archaic versions of Slavic languages) means "beautiful girl".
In African-Bobangi roots, its meaning is "lacking nothing, one who knows the path."
Other sources I found:
Diminutive of Xela (Quiche, a Mayan Language of Guatemala) meaning "My mountain home."
Diminutive of Zilla (Arabic) meaning Dark or Shadow
Feminine form of Selig (Yiddish) meaning "Blessed" or "Happy."
Other interesting finds:
In Jamaica, "Zella" is another name for nine-night, which is the celebration that takes place on the nineth night after a person's death. It may be a derivative of 'zeli', the word for drum in Ewe, one of the Kwa languages of Ghana. Dinki-minki, Garreh, and Zella are traditional types of wake with long histories which involves a folk song and dance.
Zella is an oasis in southwest Libya, and is the site of an ancient Berber castle.
The Battle of Zela was a battle fought in 47 BC between Julius Caesar and Pharnaces II of The Kingdom of Pontus.
Zella, Texas was named for Zella Bland, the daughter of Col. Howard Bland, one of the town's developers, in 1912. It turned into a ghost town after the drought in 1917.
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In African-Bobangi roots, its meaning is "lacking nothing, one who knows the path."
Other sources I found:
Diminutive of Xela (Quiche, a Mayan Language of Guatemala) meaning "My mountain home."
Diminutive of Zilla (Arabic) meaning Dark or Shadow
Feminine form of Selig (Yiddish) meaning "Blessed" or "Happy."
Other interesting finds:
In Jamaica, "Zella" is another name for nine-night, which is the celebration that takes place on the nineth night after a person's death. It may be a derivative of 'zeli', the word for drum in Ewe, one of the Kwa languages of Ghana. Dinki-minki, Garreh, and Zella are traditional types of wake with long histories which involves a folk song and dance.
Zella is an oasis in southwest Libya, and is the site of an ancient Berber castle.
The Battle of Zela was a battle fought in 47 BC between Julius Caesar and Pharnaces II of The Kingdom of Pontus.
Zella, Texas was named for Zella Bland, the daughter of Col. Howard Bland, one of the town's developers, in 1912. It turned into a ghost town after the drought in 1917.
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This sounds like a variant of Zelle which is pronounced the same, zehl-a, a word denoting a hermit cell (holy retreat) in German.
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Pronunciation: ZEL-ə
Meaning: Diminutive of Rosella and other names ending in -sella or -zella.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zella_Russell
(Information from name #289275 originally submitted by user Nifty_Name_Nerd)