Isabella
The Occitan and Spanish reshaping of Elizabeth, Hebrew Elisheva, “my God is an oath.”
Popularity, 1880–2025
The Spanish and Italian form of Elizabeth, borne by medieval queens; Twilight's Bella Swan pushed it to the very top in the late 2000s.
Isabella appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in every year from 1998 to 2025. It has been the single most popular name for American girls in 2 different years, first in 2009 and most recently in 2010. Its biggest year was 2010, when 22,936 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 1 nationally. In 2025 it ranked No. 7 for girls. All told, 417,454 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Izabella (31,149), Isabela (12,698), Izzabella (2,502), Izabela (1,835), Issabella (1,810) (total births since 1880)
Other names that share a story: Elizabeth, Bella, Beulah
Explore Isabella interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 603 | No. 215 |
| 1890s | 903 | No. 251 |
| 1900s | 1,038 | No. 290 |
| 1910s | 2,046 | No. 311 |
| 1920s | 2,095 | No. 418 |
| 1930s | 1,079 | No. 554 |
| 1940s | 774 | No. 719 |
| 1950s | 590 | No. 1160 |
| 1960s | 429 | No. 1523 |
| 1970s | 296 | No. 2001 |
| 1980s | 567 | No. 1168 |
| 1990s | 18,762 | No. 60 |
| 2000s | 149,571 | No. 1 |
| 2010s | 170,605 | No. 1 |
| 2020s | 67,643 | No. 6 |
Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
🍼 Enjoying this? Buy my baby a diaper
Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.