Annabel
Feminine · “lovable”
Annabel is probably not Anna plus belle — the medieval Scottish original was Amabel, lovable, and the Anna was read into it afterwards.
How old is the name Annabel?
Annabel was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Annabel alive today was born around 2004, making them about 21 years old. About 12,000 people named Annabel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Annabel most popular?
Annabel peaked in 2014, reaching #447 nationally. Today it ranks #2064, 1,617 places below that high. See the whole 2014 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From amabilis to Annabel
The story of Annabel
Annabel appears in twelfth-century Scotland, well before Anna was common there, which is the main evidence for the Amabel route. Poe's Annabel Lee of 1849 fixed the name in the English-speaking imagination. It appears in American records in current use.
Meaningscholars disagree
lovable
Most likely a Scottish medieval alteration of Amabel, from the Latin amabilis, 'lovable'. The reading as Anna plus the Latin bella, 'beautiful', is a later folk etymology that shaped how the name is spelled and understood. Neither is fully settled.
How the name formed
- amabilis
- Amabel
- Annabel
Related forms: Annabelle · Annabella · Annabelle
Pronouncing Annabel
AN-uh-bel
Three syllables, stress on the first. Annabel and Annabelle are said identically.
Nicknames for Annabel
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 2013632 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #447reached in 2014
- Change vs 2022
- −32.6%91 in 2025, from 135
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Annabel in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Annabelle in English — spelling variant
- Annabella in Scottish — related form
- Annabelle in French — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Texas.
Annabels among us
people named Annabel are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 17,662 born in 2025 was named Annabel
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Annabel
- #2064
- Annabel on the 2025 chart
- #815
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Annabel went to 91 girls in 2025, but Anabel and Annabell are the same name said out loud. Together the 3 spellings went to 145, which makes it the 815th most-given girls’ name of the year — 1,249 places above the chart.
About 1 girl in 11,085 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 17,662 for Annabel itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Mireya test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Annabel's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Mireya climbed just as high around 1997, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Mireya's path sketches the road Annabel is walking now.
Annabel 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 scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Annabel is headed
Annabel is easing off slowly — about 19% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Annabel beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Annabel in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That the Anna was probably read in later is a first-rate piece of name history.
- Anna and Bel are two short forms, both with real records.
- Three syllables with a front stress, which holds up against a short surname.
- Annabelle with the fuller ending is commoner in America.
- The origin is genuinely unsettled.
- A horror film franchise is a recent association.
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What they receive
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Annabel
Feminine · #2064 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Annabels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 12,000 people named Annabel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Annabel?
- Annabel is the most-used spelling in US records — 91 of the 145 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Anabel and Annabell.
- How popular is the name Annabel in 2025?
- Annabel ranks #2064 among US girl names in 2025, with 91 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Annabel?
- About 1 in every 17,662 US girls born in 2025 was named Annabel — 91 in all.
- Will my child share the name Annabel with classmates?
- Annabel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Annabel
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Abilene#2064 · Bobbie#2064 · Nylani#2064 · Edie#2064 · Ryla#2064 · Annaliese#2064 · Devora#2064 · Fatimah#2064
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Annabel? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Annabel and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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