Isabella

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Isabel in BR Brazil, AR Argentina, ES Spain and 8 more, Elizabeth in US United States, GB United Kingdom, AU Australia and 4 more, Elisabeth in NL Netherlands, DE Germany, SE Sweden and 2 more and Елизавета in RU Russia, KZ Kazakhstan, TR Türkiye and 1 more.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 12 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Isabella is also recorded as 3 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English given name805K records spelled Isabella27 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Brazil, Australia, Trinidad & Tobago

  Languages: English, German, Danish

  Also written Isa-Bella, Isabellá, Isabélla, Ísabella, Ïšäbëllä

• Hungarian given name35K records spelled Isabella7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Hungary, Finland, United States, Romania

  Languages: Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian

  Also written Izabella, Ĩzabella

• a separate given name621 records spelled Isabella3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Sweden, United States, Norway, Italy

  Also written Ísábellâ, Īsäbëllā

68 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Isabella is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, Variant of Isabel; very popular in Ireland in the early 20th century.

  as a name·Irish first names

• In English, Spanish form of Elizabeth; consecrated to God.

  as a name·Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular…

• Latinate form of jIsabel, which became popular in England in the 18th century. Transferred use of the surname, which is derived from the medieval given name Erwin, from Old English eofor ‘boar’ + wine ‘friend’. There has also been some confusion with pIrving.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• Italian form of Spanish Isabel (see main dictionary).

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• from the female personal name Isabella (see Isbell).

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Isabella of Austriab. 1501BEQueen consort of Denmark, Norway and Sweden; (1501-1526)
• Mary of Modenab. 1658ITnot in their usual nameQueen consort of England (1685-1688)
• Sojourner Truthb. 1797USnot in their usual nameabolitionist and African-American activist for women's rights (1797–1883)
• Isabella Beetonb. 1836GBBritish journalist, editor, publisher, and writer
• Isabel de Borbón y Borbónb. 1851ESnot in their usual nameSpanish princess; eldest daughter of Queen Isabella II and Francis, Duke of Cádiz
• Isabella Rossellinib. 1952ITItalian-American actress (born 1952)
• Isabella Ferrarib. 1964ITItalian actress
• Zoë Kravitzb. 1988USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress, director, singer and model (born 1988)
• Bella Hadidb. 1996USnot in their usual nameAmerican model
• Bella Ramseyb. 2003GBnot in their usual nameBritish actor

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,544 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Isabella?

We estimate roughly 2.6 million people bear Isabella (counting its spellings and scripts) across 11 countries in our records.

In which country does Isabella have the most bearers?

Isabella is most frequently recorded in Argentina, where it is most often spelled isabel.

Where is Isabella most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Isabella is densest in Sweden — about 1 in 48 people — even though Argentina holds more of our records for it.

How common is Isabella compared with other names?

In Argentina, Isabella is the 36th most common given name of 517,176 given names recorded there.

Is Isabella a male or female name?

Isabella is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Isabella mean?

Recorded meaning: From Hebrew Elisheva via Latin/Italian, 'God is my oath'