Belle
Feminine · Latin roots · “beautiful (French)”
Belle is the French word for beautiful, used as a name in its own right and as the tail end of Isabelle, Annabelle and Arabella. It has been on American record since the earliest years of national name statistics, never crowding a classroom and never disappearing either. One syllable, four letters, and no one has to ask you to repeat it.
How old is the name Belle?
Belle was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Belle alive today was born around 1918, making them about 107 years old. About 6,900 people named Belle are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Belle most popular?
Belle peaked in 1880, reaching #90 nationally. Today it ranks #1013, 923 places below that high. See the whole 1880 chart.
Where it comes from
From bellus / bella (Latin) to Belle
The story of Belle
French belle, from Latin bellus, meant simply beautiful, and by the eighteenth century it was doing service as a name and a compliment at once — the heroine of the French fairy tale La Belle et la Bête is Belle, Beauty herself. English speakers borrowed the word wholesale: a belle was the admired woman of a ball, and the Belle Époque took its name from the same adjective. In nineteenth-century America the word settled into a given name, helped along by all the Isabelles and Annabelles who were being called Belle at home. The 1991 animated film gave it a new and very widely known face.
Meaning
beautiful (French)
Belle is the feminine of French beau, from Latin bellus. It reaches many bearers by a second road as well: as the clipped ending of Isabelle, Annabelle, Arabella and Belinda, where the -belle syllable came along for other reasons and then stood up on its own.
How the name formed
- bellus / bellaLatin
- belleFrench
- Isabelle, Annabelle, Arabella
- Belle
Related forms: Belle · Bella · Bella · Bell · Bella · Bella
Pronouncing Belle
BEL
One syllable, exactly like the word bell. The final -le is silent in both French and English, so the two spellings sound identical.
Nicknames for Belle
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
- 1916334 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #90reached in 1880
- Change vs 2022
- −9.9%247 in 2025, from 274
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.
Belle in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Belle in French — same name
- Bella in Italian — related form
- Bella in Spanish — related form
- Bell in English — spelling variant
- Bella in German — related form
- Bella in Hungarian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Belles among us
people named Belle are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 6,507 born in 2025 was named Belle
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Belle 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 Belle is headed
Belle should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
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.
Belle beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Belle in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One syllable and a single obvious pronunciation — nobody has to be corrected on how to say it.
- Works in both directions: it stands alone, and it is the established short form of Isabelle, Annabelle and Arabella if a longer legal name is wanted.
- On American record since the beginning of national name statistics, so it carries a long unbroken history rather than a recent invention.
- The same word, and the same sound, in French and English; Bella covers Italian and Spanish.
- Familiar to everyone without being a name a child is likely to share in her class.
- The Disney film is the first association for most people who grew up after 1991, and it is a strong one. Some families like that; others find it means the name arrives pre-attached to a character.
- It is a homophone of bell and a near-twin of Bell and Bella, so expect a lifetime of small spelling clarifications — four letters, e at the end.
- The meaning is a compliment, and people will say so out loud. 'Beautiful' as a name draws remarks in a way that most meanings, safely buried in Old Germanic, do not.
- Because it was widely given generations ago and less so in recent decades, it still reads as an older name to some ears — which is also why it now sounds uncrowded.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Belle to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Belle? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Belle
Feminine · Latin roots · #1013 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Belles are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 6,900 people named Belle are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Belle in 2025?
- Belle ranks #1013 among US girl names in 2025, with 247 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Belle?
- About 1 in every 6,507 US girls born in 2025 was named Belle — 247 in all.
- Will my child share the name Belle with classmates?
- Belle will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Belle
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Viola#1013 · Cynthia#1013 · Meera#1016 · Beverly#1016 · Marjorie#1016 · Yusra#1016 · Agnes#1016 · Artemis#1016
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Belle? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Belle and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle