Head to head · Girls' names
Aitana vs Arabella
#211 vs #213 in 2025
Aitana is a whisker ahead (#211 vs #213 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Aitana is climbing the charts fast, Arabella is holding its place on the charts.
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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: Aitana and Arabella 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: Aitana —, Arabella #841 — Arabella higher
- 1890s: Aitana —, Arabella #1188 — Arabella higher
- 1900s: Aitana —, Arabella #1412 — Arabella higher
- 1910s: Aitana —, Arabella #1690 — Arabella higher
- 1920s: Aitana —, Arabella #2242 — Arabella higher
- 1930s: Aitana —, Arabella #2901 — Arabella higher
- 1940s: Aitana —, Arabella #3988 — Arabella higher
- 1950s: Aitana —, Arabella #4371 — Arabella higher
- 1960s: Aitana —, Arabella #5590 — Arabella higher
- 1970s: Aitana —, Arabella #7090 — Arabella higher
- 1980s: Aitana —, Arabella #8333 — Arabella higher
- 1990s: Aitana #7563, Arabella #4510 — Arabella higher
- 2000s: Aitana #9768, Arabella #1062 — Arabella higher
- 2010s: Aitana #3184, Arabella #225 — Arabella higher
- 2020s: Aitana #283, Arabella #212 — Arabella higher
Arabella stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Aitana | Arabella |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #841 |
| 1890s | — | #1188 |
| 1900s | — | #1412 |
| 1910s | — | #1690 |
| 1920s | — | #2242 |
| 1930s | — | #2901 |
| 1940s | — | #3988 |
| 1950s | — | #4371 |
| 1960s | — | #5590 |
| 1970s | — | #7090 |
| 1980s | — | #8333 |
| 1990s | #7563 | #4510 |
| 2000s | #9768 | #1062 |
| 2010s | #3184 | #225 |
| 2020s | #283 | #212 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Aitana
Not charting outside the US.
Arabella
- England & Wales#30
- Scotland#42
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Aitana
From the Sierra de Aitana, a mountain range in Alicante, Spain
That the name comes from the mountain is not in doubt. What the mountain's own name means is: scholars have proposed both pre-Roman and Arabic layers for it, and neither reading has won. A separate popular explanation links Aitana to Basque aita, 'father', but that connection is not established.
How it traveled
The name begins as geography — a limestone ridge in the province of Alicante, one of the highest points in the Valencian Community. Spanish parents took it up as a girl's name over the course of the twentieth century, and by the early 2000s it was widely used across Spain, Catalan- and Castilian-speaking regions alike.
Arabella
Either "lovable" or "yielding to prayer" — the two readings compete
One line derives Arabella from Latin amabilis, "lovable", through the medieval names Amabel and Annabel; the other from Latin orabilis, roughly "able to be entreated, yielding to prayer". Both are serious proposals and neither has won. Despite the look of the first four letters, there is no documented connection to the word Arab.
Amabilis → Amabel → Arabel → Arabella
How it traveled
The name surfaces in medieval Scotland, where records show Arabella beside the closely related Arabel and Amabel among aristocratic families — the same circles that used Annabel. From there it spread into England, and by the seventeenth century it was well established in noble English use; Lady Arbella Stuart, a cousin of James VI and I, carried a variant of it.
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
Aitana
eye-TAH-nah
The Spanish ai is the vowel in 'eye'. English speakers often reach for 'ay-TAH-nah' instead, which is close enough that it usually passes, but the eye- opening is the Spanish one.
- Tana — The most natural English-language short form, taken from the stressed middle syllable; also exists as a name in its own right.
- Aitanita — The standard Spanish affectionate diminutive, formed with -ita; used within families rather than at school or work.
- Ita — A shorter household form heard in Spanish-speaking families, informal only.
Arabella
a-ruh-BEL-uh
Stress on the third syllable, which keeps it distinct from Annabella. The first vowel is the short a of cat, and it is rarely mispronounced once seen.
- Bella — The most used short form, and a registered given name in its own right.
- Belle — Informal; also stands alone as a given name and as a French word for beautiful.
- Ara — Informal short form taken from the front of the name rather than the end.
- Bee — Family-level nickname, usually spoken more than written.
- Also Ellie, Arbell.
Who has carried each name
Aitana
Aitana Bonmatí (b. 1998) — Multiple Ballon d'Or-winning Spanish soccer star
Arabella
No documented entry for Arabella yet.
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Aitana if you want…
- a name on the way upup 154 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesAitana is 3 syllables to Arabella's 4
Choose Arabella if you want…
- a name holding steadyArabella is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itArabella runs 4 syllables, Aitana 3
- plenty of nickname options6 recorded short forms — Bella, Belle and Ara
- a name that charts abroad tooArabella is on the national lists of England & Wales and Scotland
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
Aitana
Strengths
- Spelled exactly as it sounds in Spanish, and one syllable at a time in English — most people get it on the second try.
- One spelling, no rival variants competing for it, in both Spanish and English use.
- Three even syllables ending in -a, which sits comfortably beside both short and long surnames.
To consider
- Outside Spanish-speaking communities it is still unfamiliar enough that she will spell it aloud fairly often, and hear 'ay' where 'eye' belongs.
- It sits close to Ayana, Aiyana and Atiana in sound, so mishearings are more likely than misspellings.
- The American wave is very new, so nearly everyone with this name here is a small child — it will read as a young name for another generation or two, then simply as a name.
Arabella
Strengths
- Ready-made short forms at both ends of the name — Bella, Belle, Ara — so a child has options without a nickname having to be invented.
- Documented in Britain since the Middle Ages, an unusually long unbroken written record for a name still given today.
- Spelled the way it sounds for most English speakers, and also charting in England and Wales and in Scotland, its home ground.
To consider
- Bella is a crowded nickname. With Isabella, Gabriella and Bella itself all in wide use, she may share a shortened name with other children even while her full name stays uncommon.
- Arabella, Arabelle, Annabella and Annabel are near neighbors, and expect a fair number of people to hear or write the wrong one on first meeting.
- Four syllables want a surname that can hold them; two- and three-syllable last names sometimes ask to be said slowly.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Aitana
56%chance Aitana feels dated by 2040
Aitana is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
Arabella
40%chance Arabella feels dated by 2040
Arabella sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
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 Aitana and Arabella in full.
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Decide together
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Names ending in -ana
- Names ending in -na
- The steadiest names in America
- Four-syllable names that carry
- all guides
Where Aitana and Arabella each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Aitana or Arabella — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Aitana or Arabella?
- Aitana, in 2025: Aitana ranked #211 with 1,435 babies; Arabella ranked #213 with 1,423 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Aitana or Arabella?
- Aitana. Over the last five years Aitana moved up 154 places; Arabella moved down 11 places.
- Which is the older name, Aitana or Arabella?
- Aitana entered the US charts in 1995; Arabella entered the US charts in 1881. On the American record, Arabella is the older name.
- How many people are named Aitana and Arabella?
- About 9,800 people named Aitana are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 27,000 people named Arabella are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Aitanas or Arabellas in the classroom?
- Aitana will almost certainly be the only one in school. Arabella will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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