Isabel
Masculine · “my God is an oath”
Isabel is given to girls far more often — 132,150 girls against 1,827 boys since 1880. See Isabel as a girl 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 first appears in US birth records in 1904 — 121 years ago. The typical Isabel alive today was born around 1947, making them about 78 years old. About 900 people named Isabel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Isabel most popular?
Isabel peaked in 1910, reaching #1045 nationally. See the whole 1910 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
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.
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
- 1904
- Most boys named
- 192740 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1045reached in 1910
- Change vs 2016
- 0.0%5 in 2022, from 5
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
Isabels among us
people named Isabel are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Isabel sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
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.
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What they receive
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Isabel
Masculine
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 900 people named Isabel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Isabel in 2025?
- Isabel is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Isabel with classmates?
- Isabel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More I names
The most-given names starting with I, all years combined.
Isaac#47 · Ian#83 · Isaiah#57 · Ivan#162 · Israel#315 · Ira#819 · Irving#1778 · Ismael#263
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Isabel? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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