Girl · Hebrew, through Spanish and Italian
Bella
Say it: BEL-uh
Meaning
A short form of Isabella (a form of Elizabeth, Hebrew Elisheva 'my God is an oath'), coinciding with Italian bella 'beautiful'.
Likelythe main view, with some doubt.
Used as a nickname for centuries, it surged in the US after the Twilight novels (2005) made Bella Swan famous.
Its wave through time
A revival, back after decades away
In the United States
- 70,074 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 2010, about 1 in 346 girls
- 3,590 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
| Italian | Bella |
|---|---|
| French | Belle |
Famous bearers
- Bella Abzug, American politician
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Well-known works of literature
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.