Isabel

What Isabel means

Means “my God is an oath”

From Spanish Isabel, from Old Occitan Elisabel, from Latin Elisabeth, from Ancient Greek Ἐλισάβετ (Elisábet), from Hebrew אֱלִישֶׁבַע (Elishéva, “my God is an oath”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Isabel” (revision 93568485), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Isabel?

US: Falling: down from #149 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #110 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2003, when 3,853 girls got the name (#83 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 921 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 935 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 994 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in DC (4.46 per 1,000 girls), AK (4.23 per 1,000 girls), RI (3.26 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Isabel is #176 in the US and #184 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Isabel were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Isabelle1,825 US · 814 E&W
• Isobel79 US · 189 E&W
• Isabell87 US · 17 E&W
• Izabel47 US · 10 E&W
• Izabell14 US
• Izabele0 US · 7 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Nicknames

• Bel
• Bell
• Bella
• Belle
• Isa
• Izzie
• Izzy
• Tibbie
• Tibby

Listed on Wiktionary under “pet forms”.

If you like Isabel

Girls

• Annika#995Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 2003, with 1,089 babies; 254 in 2025
• Daniela#302Form of Daniel, meaning “God is my judge”^*
• Abigail#41“my Father's joy”^*
• Makayla#566Form of Michael, meaning “who is like God?”^*
• Gabriella#105Editor’s note Down from #54 in 2015 to #105 in 2025 in the US
• Jordyn#371Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #136 in 2015, #371 in 2025

For a brother

• Isaiah#57Editor’s note Down from #49 in 2015 to #57 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 320 US boys in the 2025 records
• Caleb#58possibly “dog”^*
• Kaleb#295“dog”^*
• Issac#915Variant of Isaac, meaning “he laughs, he will laugh”^*
• Ethan#24“firmness, strong, or long-lived”^*
• Gabriel#37Finnish, meaning “God is my strong man, God is my hero”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Hebrew, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Isabel’s. Rank is US 2025.