Bela was occasionally used as a male name in the United States in the 18th and early 19th century by parents who had no connection with Hungary. It probably had a completely different origin in those cases, being the name of three different characters in the Old Testament, the most prominent being the first King of Edom. According to "Who's Who in the Old Testament", it was from a Hebrew word meaning "destroying."
I use Bela in place of my own name which I am not a fan of. I chose it because of Béla Lugosi. As a child my father loved Dracula. It was my favorite romantic movie. I always said I would name my first daughter Bela with one the one L. I love it. I do have a doll I named Bela as I don't have a daughter yet. Maybe my next Kitten...
Hungary had four kings named Béla. The most famous of them was King Béla IV, who reestablished the country after the Tatar invasion in the 13th century.
I do really like this name, but it's super irritating how often it's mistaken/mispronounced as "Bella", at least here in the US. You can't blame the name for others' ignorance, though.
Béla, Béla, Béla, Béla... this name is an utter charm! It is sophisticated without being pretentious, beautiful yet masculine, and a wonderful transition name from childhood to man (a boy could even be known as "Bo/Beau" in his young years-- or adult). Perhaps my liking spawns off the fact that I am an avid fan of old, black and white horror movies... Béla Lugosi, my friends?In English-speaking countries (especially the United States) I do foresee potential gradeschool mocking... which is where my "Bo" nickname could come to play. As long as it is paired accordingly I see no issue establishing in the business world-- Béla Vincent Bodrogi, yes sir. A Béla Phoenix Appleseed, not entirely.I still want parents to use with discretion and caution. Take into account your surrounding culture and all such things associated.
Some think the name Bela comes from Slavic meaning "white." This is not possible because the Hungarians had this name prior to their entry into central Europe in @896. They lived previously in what is now the Ukraine and previous to that had lived in the Kazan area of Russia. The only population influencing them there were Turkic people evidenced by their nearly total absorption of Turkic culture. Slavic words entered the language in the modern Hungarian area and were agricultural. The name could ultimately come from the Middle East since the ancient Hungarian alphabet originates there coming through Turkic peoples. There are three instances of the name in the Old Testament.
A famous bearer of the name was Béla Bartók. Born Béla Viktor János Bartók in what is now Romania (Sânnicolau Mare). He was one of the founders of ethnomusicology.