Isabel
Feminine · “my God is an oath”
Isabel is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 132,150 girls against 1,827 boys since 1880. See Isabel as a boy name
Spanish took Elizabeth apart at both ends. The opening syllable changed and the closing one was cut off entirely, leaving three syllables where there had been four and a name that does not obviously look related to the one it came from — which is why the two have been treated as separate names for centuries.
How old is the name Isabel?
Isabel was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Isabel alive today was born around 2001, making them about 24 years old. About 104,000 people named Isabel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Isabel most popular?
Isabel peaked in 2003, reaching #83 nationally. Today it ranks #176, 93 places below that high. See the whole 2003 chart.
Where it comes from
From Elisheba to Isabel
The story of Isabel
One woman with the name began a novel as a letter she never sent. Living in exile, she heard that her grandfather in Chile was dying and started writing to him — an account of the family, meant to keep him alive by telling him he was remembered — and kept going after he died, because by then it had become something else. It was published as a novel, sold in enormous numbers, and made her the most widely read author writing in Spanish. She has begun every book since on the same date, which she says is superstition and probably discipline.
Meaningscholars disagree
my God is an oath
The Hebrew name behind it is usually read this way and the second element has also been explained as abundance. Neither reading is secure, and the alterations Spanish made do not affect the question.
Cultural footprint
Isabel Allende (b. 1942) — The world's most widely read Spanish-language author
Isabel Perón (b. 1931) — First woman to be president of any country
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
How the name formed
- Elisheba
- Elizabeth
- Isabel
Related forms: Isabel · Isabel · Isabelle · Isabella
Pronouncing Isabel
IZ-uh-bel
Three syllables with the stress at the front in English. Spanish puts it on the last, saying ee-sah-BEL, which is a considerable difference.
Nicknames for Isabel
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
- 20073,864 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #83reached in 2003
- Change vs 2022
- −6.0%1,746 in 2025, from 1,858
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.
Isabel in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Isabel in Spanish — same name
- Isabel in Portuguese — same name
- Isabelle in French — same name
- Isabella in Italian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Isabels among us
people named Isabel are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 921 born in 2025 was named Isabel
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Jeanne test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Isabel's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Jeanne climbed just as high around 1946, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Jeanne's path sketches the road Isabel is walking now.
Isabel 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 Isabel is headed
Isabel should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High 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.
Isabel beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Isabel in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is recognized across Europe and the Americas with almost no change.
- It has established short forms in more than one language.
- The rhythm is even and the name carries well.
- The stress falls differently in English and Spanish and both are heard.
- It is currently fashionable, so a child may not be the only one nearby.
- Isabelle and Isabella are both standard and get substituted.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Isabel
Feminine · #176 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Isabels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 104,000 people named Isabel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Isabel in 2025?
- Isabel ranks #176 among US girl names in 2025, with 1,746 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Isabel?
- About 1 in every 921 US girls born in 2025 was named Isabel — 1,746 in all.
- Will my child share the name Isabel with classmates?
- Isabel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Isabel
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Freya#176 · Callie#175 · Daphne#178 · Ariella#174 · Ruth#173 · Lilah#179 · Amaya#180 · Vivienne#172
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Isabel? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Isabel and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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