Head to head · Girls' names
Ivanna vs Izabella
#566 vs #564 in 2025
Izabella is a whisker ahead (#564 vs #566 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Izabella is stepping back from its peak, Ivanna is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Ivanna 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; Ivanna leads 2.
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
- 1950s: Ivanna #5753, Izabella — — Ivanna higher
- 1960s: Ivanna #6348, Izabella — — Ivanna higher
- 1970s: Ivanna #8039, Izabella — — Ivanna higher
- 1980s: Ivanna #6386, Izabella #9825 — Ivanna higher
- 1990s: Ivanna #1845, Izabella #3097 — Ivanna higher
- 2000s: Ivanna #1407, Izabella #384 — Izabella higher
- 2010s: Ivanna #654, Izabella #214 — Izabella higher
- 2020s: Ivanna #582, Izabella #441 — Izabella higher
Ivanna stood higher in 5 of 8 decades; Izabella has held the lead since the 2000s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Ivanna | Izabella |
|---|---|---|
| 1950s | #5753 | — |
| 1960s | #6348 | — |
| 1970s | #8039 | — |
| 1980s | #6386 | #9825 |
| 1990s | #1845 | #3097 |
| 2000s | #1407 | #384 |
| 2010s | #654 | #214 |
| 2020s | #582 | #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
Ivanna
God is gracious
The sense comes from the Hebrew name Yochanan, which lies behind John, Jane, Joan and every Ivan.
Yochanan → Ioannes → Ioann → Ivan → Ivanna
How it traveled
The root is Hebrew Yochanan, carried into Greek as Ioannes by the translators and writers of the early Christian era, and from there into Church Slavonic as Ioann. Slavic speech wore it down to Ivan, one of the most widely used men's names in Eastern Europe for centuries, and Ivanna is its feminine form — spelled with the double n in Ukrainian, with a single n as Ivana in Czech, Croatian, Serbian and Slovak.
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
Ivanna
ee-VAH-nah
That is the Slavic and Spanish pronunciation and the usual one. Some English speakers reach for ih-VAN-uh instead, rhyming the middle with 'van'; both are heard in the US, so it is worth deciding early which one your family uses.
- Iva — The most common short form, and a standalone given name in South Slavic countries.
- Ivy — An English-language shortening that doubles as a well-established name of its own.
- Vanna — Informal, taken from the second half; also stands alone in Italian usage.
- Ana — Widely used in Spanish-speaking families, and a full given name in its own right.
- Also Ivi, Nana.
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 Ivanna if you want…
- a name on the way upup 31 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesIvanna is 3 syllables to Izabella's 4
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, Ivanna 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
Ivanna
Strengths
- Shares a root with John, Jane, Joan and Juana, so the name has a long, unbroken documented line behind it.
- Reads correctly in both Spanish and Slavic languages without respelling — useful in a bilingual family.
- Several ready-made short forms, including Iva, Ivy and Ana, each of which also works as a name on its own.
To consider
- The single-n Ivana is the more familiar spelling to many Americans, so expect a lifetime of gentle corrections — and of forms coming back with one n.
- Pronunciation splits between ee-VAH-nah and ih-VAN-uh depending on who is reading it aloud. Neither is wrong, but she will be introducing herself often.
- Said quickly in English, the first two syllables can land close to 'I wanna'. Most people never notice; a few schoolyards will.
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 Ivanna 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 Ivanna and Izabella?
Put both to the vote.
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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
- Four-syllable names that carry
- Eight-letter names with presence
- Names with a Z in them
- Names far more common than their rank admits
- all guides
Where Ivanna and Izabella each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Ivanna or Izabella — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Ivanna or Izabella?
- Izabella, in 2025: Izabella ranked #564 with 532 babies; Ivanna ranked #566 with 530 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Ivanna or Izabella?
- Ivanna. Over the last five years Ivanna moved up 31 places; Izabella moved down 224 places.
- Which is the older name, Ivanna or Izabella?
- Ivanna entered the US charts in 1954; Izabella entered the US charts in 1987. On the American record, Ivanna is the older name.
- How many people are named Ivanna and Izabella?
- About 10,000 people named Ivanna 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 Ivannas or Izabellas in the classroom?
- Ivanna 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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