Isobel

What Isobel means

Variant of Isabel, meaning “my God is an oath”

variant of Isabel || 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, “Isobel” (revision 87648432) and “Isabel” (revision 93568485), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Isobel?

US: Falling: down from #2088 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #113 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2016, when 129 girls got the name (#1660 that year). First in the US records in 1894.

How common

• About 1 in 20,345 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 1,340 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 895 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 CA (0.07 per 1,000 girls), NY (0.06 per 1,000 girls), TX (0.03 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

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

US vs UK

Isobel is #2298 in the US and #246 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 Isobel were girls.

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

Other spellings

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Isabel1,746 US · 271 E&W
• Isabell87 US · 17 E&W
• Izabel47 US · 10 E&W
• Isobelle7 US · 19 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.

If you like Isobel

Girls

• Maya#62Editor’s note Steady in the US: #68 in 2015 and #62 in 2025. About 1 in 430 US girls in the 2025 records
• Sarai#424“master, chief”^*
• Eve#519Editor’s note Down from #470 in 2015 to #519 in 2025 in the US
• Azariah#630“Yah Has Helped”^*
• Aliyah#263“ascent”^*
• Briella#362Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1993, with 7 babies

For a brother

• Elijah#7“Yahweh is my god”^*
• Noah#2Editor’s note Steady in the US: #1 in 2015 and #2 in 2025. About 1 in 84 US boys in the 2025 records
• Zion#142Editor’s note Up from #227 in 2015 to #142 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 680 US boys in the 2025 records
• Malachi#134“my messenger”^*
• Jonah#128“dove”^*
• Solomon#422“peace”^*

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 Isobel’s. Rank is US 2025.