Head to head · Girls' names
Isabella vs Isla
#7 vs #28 in 2025
Isabella is a whisker ahead (#7 vs #28 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Isabella is holding its place on the charts, Isla is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Isla 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, Isabella leads 5 measures of 6; Isla 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: Isabella #251, Isla #956 — Isabella higher
- 1890s: Isabella #293, Isla #1222 — Isabella higher
- 1900s: Isabella #328, Isla #1188 — Isabella higher
- 1910s: Isabella #379, Isla #1313 — Isabella higher
- 1920s: Isabella #479, Isla #1622 — Isabella higher
- 1930s: Isabella #654, Isla #1914 — Isabella higher
- 1940s: Isabella #915, Isla #3408 — Isabella higher
- 1950s: Isabella #1313, Isla #4024 — Isabella higher
- 1960s: Isabella #1826, Isla #6619 — Isabella higher
- 1970s: Isabella #2692, Isla #8474 — Isabella higher
- 1980s: Isabella #2207, Isla #9116 — Isabella higher
- 1990s: Isabella #320, Isla #6949 — Isabella higher
- 2000s: Isabella #12, Isla #2769 — Isabella higher
- 2010s: Isabella #4, Isla #162 — Isabella higher
- 2020s: Isabella #7, Isla #35 — Isabella higher
Isabella stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Isabella | Isla |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #251 | #956 |
| 1890s | #293 | #1222 |
| 1900s | #328 | #1188 |
| 1910s | #379 | #1313 |
| 1920s | #479 | #1622 |
| 1930s | #654 | #1914 |
| 1940s | #915 | #3408 |
| 1950s | #1313 | #4024 |
| 1960s | #1826 | #6619 |
| 1970s | #2692 | #8474 |
| 1980s | #2207 | #9116 |
| 1990s | #320 | #6949 |
| 2000s | #12 | #2769 |
| 2010s | #4 | #162 |
| 2020s | #7 | #35 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Isabella
- England & Wales#11
- Canada#24
- Scotland#31
Isla
- Scotland#2
- England & Wales#4
- Canada#13
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Isabella
From Hebrew Elisheva, "my God is an oath"
Isabella is the Latinate form of Isabel, which arose in medieval Spain and southern France as a reshaping of Elizabeth. The Hebrew root Elisheva is standardly read "my God is an oath"; a minority reading gives "my God is abundance."
Elisheva → Elisabet → Elizabeth → Isabel → Isabella
How it traveled
Elisheva appears in the Hebrew Bible, passed into Greek as Elisabet, and from there into Latin and every Christian language of Europe. In medieval Occitan and Spanish speech the opening syllable softened and the final one dropped, leaving Isabel — treated for centuries as a name in its own right rather than a variant.
Isla
From a Scottish place name — the island of Islay and the rivers Isla
The derivation from the place name is well accepted. What Islay itself originally meant is not established; the name is old enough that it predates reliable record, with both Norse and pre-Gaelic explanations offered and none demonstrated. Separately, isla is the ordinary Spanish word for island — a coincidence of spelling rather than a shared root, but one that Spanish-speaking families notice straight away.
Ìle → Islay → Isla
How it traveled
Islay has been inhabited and named for far longer than any record of it as a personal name; in Gaelic the island is Ìle. Scottish families began using Isla as a girl's given name in the nineteenth century, part of a wider habit of drawing first names from rivers, glens and islands.
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
Isabella
iz-uh-BEL-uh
Stress on the third syllable. Spanish and Italian speakers keep the same shape, with a crisper first vowel: ee-sa-BEL-la.
- Bella — The dominant short form in American use, and long established as an independent given name as well.
- Izzy — Informal and playground-friendly; also spelled Izzie. Used across Isabella, Isabel and Isabelle alike.
- Belle — An older short form, also standing alone as a French-derived name.
- Ella — Drawn from the tail of the name; widely used as a full given name in its own right.
- Also Isa, Ib.
Isla
EYE-la
The s is silent, as in island. Two common departures: an English speaker seeing it for the first time may try IS-la, and a Spanish speaker will naturally read it as EES-la, since it matches the Spanish word for island. Both are easily corrected, but expect to do the correcting.
- Izzy — Informal; shared with Isabel and Isabella, so it does not point back to one spelling.
- Is — Very informal, family-level; not used as a name on its own.
One short form, two names
- Isabella and Isla both shorten to Izzy.
Short forms as recorded on each name’s own page. This is here so it is a decision rather than a discovery.
Who has carried each name
Isabella
Isabella Rossellini (b. 1952) — Model and actress, daughter of Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini
Isabella d'Este (b. 1474) — Renaissance patron so influential she was called "the First Lady of the world"
Isabella Bird (b. 1831) — Victorian explorer, first woman elected to the Royal Geographical Society
Isla
Isla Fisher (b. 1976) — Comedy standout of Wedding Crashers and Confessions of a Shopaholic
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 Isabella if you want…
- a name most people already know#7 in 2025, 10,666 babies that year
- a name holding steadyIsabella is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itIsabella runs 4 syllables, Isla 2
- plenty of nickname options6 recorded short forms — Bella, Izzy and Belle
Choose Isla if you want…
- a name fewer children share#28 in 2025 — isla will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name on the way upup 16 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesIsla is 2 syllables to Isabella's 4
- a newer arrivalIsla entered the US charts in 1886
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
Isabella
Strengths
- Recognized and spelled correctly in most of Europe and the Americas, with matching forms in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian and Polish.
- An unbroken written record stretching back to the Middle Ages, carried by queens, consorts, writers and scientists.
- Several well-worn short forms — Bella, Izzy, Belle, Ella — so a child can choose how formal to sound.
To consider
- It is common enough that sharing a classroom or a friendship group with another Isabella is a realistic prospect, often distinguished by initials.
- Isabella, Isabelle, Isabel and Izabella all circulate at once, so expect to spell it out on forms and correct the occasional letter.
- Bella took on wide currency through Isabella "Bella" Swan of the Twilight novels; the association has faded but some people still make it.
Isla
Strengths
- Short, already complete, and needs no nickname to be usable at any age.
- Charts in Scotland, England and Wales, and Canada as well as the US, so it is recognized on both sides of the Atlantic.
- One dominant spelling, which keeps forms and rosters simple.
To consider
- The silent s means a lifetime of small corrections, both in speech and when someone hears it and writes Ayla or Isla as IS-la.
- Its rise is recent and steep, so it is far more common among small children than among adults — the balance may look different by the time she is in high school.
- Izzy overlaps with Isabella and Isabel, which are well represented in the same age group.
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 Isabella and Isla 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
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
- Transatlantic hits: loved on both sides of the ocean
- America's top 100 names right now
- Vowel names: soft starts from A to O
- all guides
Every list here names both Isabella and Isla — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Isabella or Isla — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Isabella or Isla?
- Isabella, in 2025: Isabella ranked #7 with 10,666 babies; Isla ranked #28 with 6,012 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Isabella or Isla?
- Isla. Over the last five years Isabella is holding its place on the charts; Isla moved up 16 places.
- Which is the older name, Isabella or Isla?
- Isabella was already in use when US records began in 1880; Isla entered the US charts in 1886. On the American record, Isabella is the older name.
- How many people are named Isabella and Isla?
- About 406,000 people named Isabella are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 57,000 people named Isla are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Do Isabella and Isla share a nickname?
- Yes — both shorten to Izzy, so in a house with both names the short form would not say which child is meant.
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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