Head to head · Girls' names
Imani vs Izabella
#579 vs #564 in 2025
Izabella is a whisker ahead (#564 vs #579 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Izabella is stepping back from its peak, Imani is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Imani has the edge.
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, Izabella leads 4 measures of 6; Imani 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
- 1970s: Imani #3095, Izabella — — Imani higher
- 1980s: Imani #2256, Izabella #9825 — Imani higher
- 1990s: Imani #428, Izabella #3097 — Imani higher
- 2000s: Imani #364, Izabella #384 — Imani higher
- 2010s: Imani #478, Izabella #214 — Izabella higher
- 2020s: Imani #523, Izabella #441 — Izabella higher
Imani stood higher in 4 of 6 decades; Izabella has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Imani | Izabella |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | #3095 | — |
| 1980s | #2256 | #9825 |
| 1990s | #428 | #3097 |
| 2000s | #364 | #384 |
| 2010s | #478 | #214 |
| 2020s | #523 | #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
Imani
faith, belief
Swahili imani, borrowed from Arabic īmān 'faith', which comes from the root ʾ-m-n — the same root behind amin and, at a distance, amen.
īmān (Arabic) → imani (Swahili) → Imani
How it traveled
The word traveled with trade and Islam down the East African coast: Arabic īmān, 'faith', entered Swahili as imani and stayed there as everyday vocabulary. Kwanzaa, created in the United States in the 1960s, took its seven principles from Swahili and gave the last of them this name — Imani, faith, celebrated on the closing day.
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
Imani
ee-MAH-nee
Swahili puts the stress on the second syllable, which is how most American speakers say it too. Some say ih-MAH-nee with a lighter first vowel; both are widely heard.
- Mani — The most common informal clip, used within families and among friends.
- Immy — Informal, and shared with Imogen and Imelda; more common in English-speaking households than in Swahili-speaking ones.
- Iman — Sometimes used as a short form, though it stands fully on its own as a given name in Arabic.
- Imi — Casual written shortening, seen more in texts and notes than in speech.
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 Imani if you want…
- a name fewer children share#579 in 2025 — imani will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name with fewer syllablesImani is 3 syllables to Izabella's 4
Choose Izabella if you want…
- a name most people already know#564 in 2025, 532 babies that year
- a name past its most crowded yearsIzabella is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itIzabella runs 4 syllables, Imani 3
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
Imani
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds, with no silent letters or double consonants to explain.
- Carries a plain, settled meaning — faith — that a child can learn and repeat without a dictionary.
- Recognized across Swahili and, in related form, Arabic and Persian, so it travels without becoming unreadable.
To consider
- Amani, a separate Swahili name meaning peace, is close enough in sound and spelling that the two get mixed up. Expect the occasional correction, and expect Emani and Imanni to show up on forms as well.
- The name is tied to Swahili and to Kwanzaa, where it names the principle of faith. Families outside those traditions may want to be comfortable saying where it comes from, since it is the first thing people who know the word will hear.
- In American records it is a girl's name, but Iman is a man's name in Iran, so international paperwork and introductions can occasionally take the wrong turn.
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 Imani 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 Imani and Izabella?
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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
- African names with radiant meanings
- Four-syllable names that carry
- Eight-letter names with presence
- Names with a Z in them
- all guides
Where Imani and Izabella each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Imani or Izabella — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Imani or Izabella?
- Izabella, in 2025: Izabella ranked #564 with 532 babies; Imani ranked #579 with 512 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Imani or Izabella?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Imani moved down 57 places; Izabella moved down 224 places.
- Which is the older name, Imani or Izabella?
- Imani entered the US charts in 1970; Izabella entered the US charts in 1987. On the American record, Imani is the older name.
- How many people are named Imani and Izabella?
- About 27,500 people named Imani 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 Imanis or Izabellas in the classroom?
- Imani 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
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