Head to head · Girls' names
Aisha vs Annabelle
#337 vs #343 in 2025
Aisha is a whisker ahead (#337 vs #343 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Aisha is back after a long quiet spell, Annabelle is stepping back from its peak.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Aisha and Annabelle each lead 3 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Aisha —, Annabelle #493 — Annabelle higher
- 1890s: Aisha —, Annabelle #446 — Annabelle higher
- 1900s: Aisha —, Annabelle #375 — Annabelle higher
- 1910s: Aisha —, Annabelle #300 — Annabelle higher
- 1920s: Aisha —, Annabelle #271 — Annabelle higher
- 1930s: Aisha —, Annabelle #401 — Annabelle higher
- 1940s: Aisha —, Annabelle #691 — Annabelle higher
- 1950s: Aisha #4932, Annabelle #1374 — Annabelle higher
- 1960s: Aisha #3404, Annabelle #1442 — Annabelle higher
- 1970s: Aisha #746, Annabelle #1754 — Aisha higher
- 1980s: Aisha #504, Annabelle #1940 — Aisha higher
- 1990s: Aisha #587, Annabelle #1188 — Aisha higher
- 2000s: Aisha #690, Annabelle #272 — Annabelle higher
- 2010s: Aisha #565, Annabelle #109 — Annabelle higher
- 2020s: Aisha #428, Annabelle #308 — Annabelle higher
Annabelle stood higher in 12 of 15 decades; Annabelle has held the lead since the 2000s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Aisha | Annabelle |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #493 |
| 1890s | — | #446 |
| 1900s | — | #375 |
| 1910s | — | #300 |
| 1920s | — | #271 |
| 1930s | — | #401 |
| 1940s | — | #691 |
| 1950s | #4932 | #1374 |
| 1960s | #3404 | #1442 |
| 1970s | #746 | #1754 |
| 1980s | #504 | #1940 |
| 1990s | #587 | #1188 |
| 2000s | #690 | #272 |
| 2010s | #565 | #109 |
| 2020s | #428 | #308 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Aisha
Living, alive; thriving
From the Arabic root ʿ-y-sh, 'to live'. The same root gives the ordinary Arabic words for life and living.
ʿĀʾisha (Arabic) → Ayşe / Aïcha → Ayesha → Aisha
How it traveled
Aisha is the English spelling of Arabic ʿĀʾisha, a feminine form built on the root meaning 'to live'. Its fame across the Muslim world rests on Aisha bint Abi Bakr, wife of the Prophet Muhammad and a major transmitter of hadith in the seventh century; from that point the name travels wherever Islam travels, taking local shape as Ayşe in Turkish, Aïcha in French-speaking North Africa, Ayesha in South Asia, and Aixa in Spanish by way of al-Andalus.
Annabelle
Either "lovable" or, read as Anna + belle, "grace" plus "beautiful"
Name scholars generally trace Annabel back to Amabel, from Latin amabilis, "lovable." But the name was long ago reinterpreted as a compound of Anna and the French belle, "beautiful" — and the -belle spelling is a product of exactly that rereading. Both readings are genuinely in play; the second is the reason this form of the name exists at all.
Amabilis → Amabel → Annabel → Annabella → Annabelle
How it traveled
The name surfaces in Scotland in the Middle Ages as Annabel or Annabella, a form that circulated among Scottish nobility — Annabella Drummond was queen consort to Robert III of Scotland, and died at the very start of the fifteenth century. From Scotland it spread through England and eventually across the Atlantic, where it has been recorded since American record-keeping began.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Aisha
ah-EE-shuh
Also widely said AY-shuh, and in Arabic closer to AA-ee-sha with a catch of breath in the middle. All three are current in the US, so the family's preferred version is worth stating once and early.
- Aish — The usual one-syllable clip among English speakers; informal, spoken more than written.
- Isha — Used as a short form and also stands alone as a given name in South Asia.
- Aishu — Affectionate South Asian diminutive, mostly family use.
- Ash — Anglicized shortening heard in US schools; shared with Ashley and Ashton.
Annabelle
AN-uh-bel
Stress on the first syllable. The final -belle sounds the same as the shorter Annabel — the extra letters are silent, which is precisely where the spelling trouble starts.
- Anna — Stands fully on its own as a given name; used both formally and at home.
- Annie — The informal short form, in continuous English use for centuries, and a registered given name in its own right.
- Belle — Takes the second half instead of the first; also independently used as a given name.
- Bella — Widely used as a familiar form, though it belongs more properly to Isabella and Arabella.
- Also Ann, Nell.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Aisha if you want…
- a name on the way upup 199 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesAisha is 2 syllables to Annabelle's 3
- a newer arrivalAisha entered the US charts in 1950
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 30% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 74% for Annabelle
Choose Annabelle if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsAnnabelle is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itAnnabelle runs 3 syllables, Aisha 2
- plenty of nickname options6 recorded short forms — Anna, Annie and Belle
- a long American recordAnnabelle was already in use when US records began in 1880
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Aisha
Strengths
- A clear, settled meaning — 'living' — from a root still used in everyday Arabic.
- Recognized across Arabic, Turkish, Swahili, Urdu, French and Spanish-speaking communities without needing translation.
- Continuously documented since the seventh century, with no gap in use anywhere along the way.
To consider
- Two pronunciations compete in American English — ah-EE-shuh and AY-shuh — so expect to correct people, or to accept both.
- The spelling has real rivals: Ayesha, Aiesha and Aïcha are all established, and some people will default to one of those when writing it down.
- In Muslim families the name carries a specific and honored association with Aisha bint Abi Bakr. That is a strength for many; for families outside that tradition, it is simply worth knowing the name arrives with it.
Annabelle
Strengths
- Everyone can pronounce it on sight, in English and in French, with no coaching required.
- An unusually deep bench of established short forms — Anna, Annie, Belle — each already a real name someone could grow into.
- A documented line running from medieval Scotland to the present, with no gap in use.
To consider
- Three spellings compete: Annabelle, Annabel and Anabelle. Whichever you pick will be written the other ways by other people, more or less permanently.
- The 2014 horror film Annabelle and its sequels attached the name to a possessed doll. It made no dent in the name's use, but it is the first thing an internet search returns, and worth knowing in advance.
- It sits inside a large family of -bella and -belle names, so it may be misheard as Isabella or Arabella, and nicknames can drift toward the generic Bella.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Aisha
30%chance Aisha feels dated by 2040
Aisha is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
Annabelle
74%chance Annabelle feels dated by 2040
Annabelle is coming down from a big peak (#57 in 2014). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Aisha and Annabelle in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Aisha and Annabelle?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Aisha and Annabelle — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Aisha or Annabelle — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Aisha or Annabelle?
- Aisha, in 2025: Aisha ranked #337 with 910 babies; Annabelle ranked #343 with 891 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Aisha or Annabelle?
- Aisha. Over the last five years Aisha moved up 199 places; Annabelle moved down 123 places.
- Which is the older name, Aisha or Annabelle?
- Aisha entered the US charts in 1950; Annabelle was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Annabelle is the older name.
- How many people are named Aisha and Annabelle?
- About 26,500 people named Aisha are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 54,000 people named Annabelle are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Aishas or Annabelles in the classroom?
- Aisha will almost certainly be the only one in school. Annabelle will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Aisha, Annabelle and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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