Head to head · Girls' names
Della vs Izabella
#563 vs #564 in 2025
Della is a whisker ahead (#563 vs #564 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Della is back after a long quiet spell, Izabella 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
On the charts, Della leads 5 measures of 6; Izabella leads 1.
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: Della #68, Izabella — — Della higher
- 1890s: Della #81, Izabella — — Della higher
- 1900s: Della #107, Izabella — — Della higher
- 1910s: Della #159, Izabella — — Della higher
- 1920s: Della #197, Izabella — — Della higher
- 1930s: Della #218, Izabella — — Della higher
- 1940s: Della #283, Izabella — — Della higher
- 1950s: Della #353, Izabella — — Della higher
- 1960s: Della #464, Izabella — — Della higher
- 1970s: Della #837, Izabella — — Della higher
- 1980s: Della #1554, Izabella #9825 — Della higher
- 1990s: Della #2538, Izabella #3097 — Della higher
- 2000s: Della #2496, Izabella #384 — Izabella higher
- 2010s: Della #1224, Izabella #214 — Izabella higher
- 2020s: Della #679, Izabella #441 — Izabella higher
Della stood higher in 12 of 15 decades; Izabella has held the lead since the 2000s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Della | Izabella |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #68 | — |
| 1890s | #81 | — |
| 1900s | #107 | — |
| 1910s | #159 | — |
| 1920s | #197 | — |
| 1930s | #218 | — |
| 1940s | #283 | — |
| 1950s | #353 | — |
| 1960s | #464 | — |
| 1970s | #837 | — |
| 1980s | #1554 | #9825 |
| 1990s | #2538 | #3097 |
| 2000s | #2496 | #384 |
| 2010s | #1224 | #214 |
| 2020s | #679 | #441 |
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
Della
Depends on the longer name behind it: 'noble' by way of Adela and Adelaide, or from Delia, a title of the goddess Artemis born on Delos
Della is a short form rather than a name coined whole, so its meaning is inherited. Through Adela and Adelaide it goes back to the Germanic element adal, 'noble.' Through Delia — also shortened to Della in English use — it reaches Greek Delia, 'of Delos.' Cordelia and Fidelia have also handed the name down. All these roads are real; none cancels the others.
Adal (Germanic element, 'noble') → Adela → Adelaide → Della
How it traveled
Della grew out of the nineteenth-century English habit of turning long formal names into warm short ones and then registering the short one on the birth certificate. Adela, Adelaide, Adeline, Delia and Cordelia all shed their front halves in family speech, and Della was the common landing place.
Izabella
God is my oath
Izabella descends from Isabella, which grew out of Elizabeth — Hebrew Elisheva, understood as "my God is an oath." The resemblance to Italian bella, "beautiful," is a coincidence of sound rather than the source, though it has kept the name company for centuries.
Elisheva → Elisabet → Isabel → Isabella → Izabella
How it traveled
Elizabeth traveled from Hebrew into Greek and Latin, and in medieval southern France and Spain the opening syllable wore away, leaving Isabel. Latinized back into Isabella, it became one of the great royal names of Europe — worn by Isabella I of Castile in the fifteenth century and by queens and consorts across France, Portugal and England.
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
Della
DEL-uh
Stress on the first syllable. One pronunciation everywhere in English, and the spelling gives it away on sight — rare for a name this old.
- Dell — The oldest short form, used informally; also stands alone as a given name and as a surname.
- Dellie — Affectionate childhood form, spelled Delly as often as Dellie.
- Dee — Informal, shared with many D- names; used for adults as much as children.
Izabella
iz-uh-BEL-uh
Identical to Isabella — the z is pronounced the same as the s in the common spelling. In Hungarian the stress falls on the first syllable instead: IZ-o-bel-lo.
- Bella — The most common short form, and long established as a given name in its own right.
- Izzy — Informal, keeps the z visible; used for Isabella, Isadora and Isaiah too.
- Iza — The usual short form in Polish and Hungarian households.
- Belle — A slightly older-fashioned trim of the same syllable, also a standalone name.
- Also Ella.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Della if you want…
- a name on the way upup 352 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesDella is 2 syllables to Izabella's 4
- a long American recordDella was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Izabella if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsIzabella is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itIzabella runs 4 syllables, Della 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Bella, Izzy and Iza
- a newer arrivalIzabella entered the US charts in 1987
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
Della
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds, with one settled pronunciation, so it rarely needs repeating or correcting.
- Unbroken use in the United States since the nineteenth century, so it reads as familiar rather than invented.
- Sits beside a whole family of longer names — Adela, Adelaide, Adeline, Cordelia, Delia — if you want a formal version on paper.
To consider
- It is a short form by origin, so it comes with no built-in long version. Some parents record Adelaide or Cordelia and use Della daily; others use Della on its own, as families have done for well over a century.
- It is still strongly represented among the oldest living generations, which is exactly why it sounds fresh again now — but expect some people to hear it as their grandmother's era rather than a baby's.
- In Italian, della is an everyday grammatical word meaning 'of the,' which Italian speakers will notice, usually with amusement rather than objection.
Izabella
Strengths
- The sound needs no explanation anywhere in the English-speaking world; only the spelling does.
- Two ready-made short forms, Bella and Izzy, both already in independent use.
- Belongs to a name family — Elizabeth, Isabel, Isabelle, Izabela — that spans most European languages.
To consider
- Isabella is the default spelling in English, so Izabella will be corrected and re-corrected on forms, rosters and coffee cups for life. Most bearers settle into spelling it aloud without much thought, but it never quite stops.
- The name is stepping back from a recent high point, which means most people carrying it now are children and teenagers rather than adults — a young-sounding name for the next couple of decades.
- Bella and Ella, the obvious short forms, are both widely used names on their own, so she may share a nickname with girls whose full names are nothing like hers.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
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 Della and Izabella 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 Della and Izabella?
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 these names appear on
- Vintage names making a comeback
- Grandmother-chic: 1920s names ready to return
- Victorian names ready for a second century
- The longest comebacks in the records
- all guides
Where Della and Izabella each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Della or Izabella — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Della or Izabella?
- Della, in 2025: Della ranked #563 with 533 babies; Izabella ranked #564 with 532 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Della or Izabella?
- Della. Over the last five years Della moved up 352 places; Izabella moved down 224 places.
- Which is the older name, Della or Izabella?
- Della was already in use when US records began in 1880; Izabella entered the US charts in 1987. On the American record, Della is the older name.
- How many people are named Della and Izabella?
- About 24,000 people named Della are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 31,000 people named Izabella are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Dellas or Izabellas in the classroom?
- Della will almost certainly be the only one in school. Izabella 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 Della, Izabella and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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