Della is the English diminutive of names ending in *-della* (such as Adella, Cordelia) or of Delia — also from the Germanic edel (noble). **A top-100 US baby name from 1880 to 1907, peaking at #46 in 1890 — one of the iconic Victorian-era American names**. **Della Reese (1931-2017)** — **American singer, actress, and ordained minister; star of CBS's *Touched by an Angel* (1994-2003) for nine seasons as Tess, supervisor of the angels — a role that earned her four Primetime Emmy nominations**. **First Black woman to host her own variety show (NBC's *Della*, 1969-1970)**. **Grammy nomination for her gospel album *In the Meantime* (1969)**. **Co-founded the Understanding Principles for Better Living Church in 1986**. **Della Beatrice Dean (1881-1956)** — American settlement-house worker; one of the first Black women social workers in New York's Lower East Side. **Della Goodwin** — American educator. **Della Reese was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1994)**. **Della** is also the diminutive of Adele.
Featured throughout late-19th-century American culture and 1990s-2000s television.
Della reduces to eight — the number of Touched by an Angel.