Isabella: meaning and UK use

What does Isabella mean?

Isabella is a Latinate form of Isabel, rather than a separate literal Italian word. Isabel and Isabelle are useful related forms to compare.

Language or name family covered

Latinate form of Isabel

Meaning or derivation

A form of Isabel

Our browsing group

girl; classic, international

Browsing groups describe our editorial shortlist, not rules about who may use a name. A name can cross languages and genders.

Sources for this entry — reviewed 2026-10-07:

• Behind the Name — Isabella

Pronunciation and related forms

iz-uh-BEL-uh (English)

English respellings are approximate; IPA is labelled where used. Follow the pronunciation a person or family chooses, and check it with a speaker of the intended language if that connection matters to you.

Related forms recorded in the reference: Isabel, Isabelle, Bella, Izzy. These may be full forms, diminutives or forms in another language; they are not necessarily pronounced alike or counted together in statistics.

How popular is Isabella?

In 2025, 1,690 baby girls in England and Wales were registered as Isabella, making it the 10th most popular girls’ name. That is up 1 place on 2024, when it ranked 11th. It has slipped from 8th in 2015, 2 places in ten years. Its best year in the ONS series was 2019, at 6th. These figures cover England and Wales, not the whole UK.

2025 rank (girls)

10th

2025 registrations

1,690

Best rank in this series

6th (2019)

Every year from 1996 to 2025

Isabella: rank and number of baby girls by year (ONS)

Year	Rank	Babies
2025	10	1,690
2024	11	1,708
2023	10	1,795
2022	9	1,927
2021	13	2,010
2020	8	2,052
2019	6	2,398
2018	7	2,369
2017	6	2,627
2016	6	2,729
2015	8	2,876
2014	7	3,022
2013	8	3,246
2012	10	3,358
2011	10	3,464
2010	12	3,395
2009	15	2,607
2008	18	2,424
2007	19	2,364
2006	20	2,306
2005	24	2,065
2004	34	1,555
2003	37	1,350
2002	50	1,041
2001	54	950
2000	64	796
1999	57	883
1998	90	594
1997	107	470
1996	106	441

The sum of published counts in this 1996–2025 girls series is 60,512. This is a lower bound where years are suppressed, not the number of living people with the name. A best rank is the best position within this series; it does not establish an all-time record.

Selected hyphenated registrations starting with Isabella in 2025: Isabella-Rose: 32 (girls). This selection includes up to four matching forms with at least ten registrations, not every compound name.

Sources: ONS release, 2025; girls' dataset; boys' dataset. Our 20 top-ten positions were checked against Table 1 in the 2025 workbooks. The history chart and spelling comparisons come from the separate ONS 1996–2025 workbook, checked 7 October 2026. Spelling variants are separate entries. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate statistics.

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Names to compare with Isabella

These suggestions share a browsing group and one or more of our style tags or source-context labels. They are taste comparisons, not etymological relatives or a popularity ranking.

• Aishainternational, classic · Living or alive
• Laylainternational, classic · Night
• Niamhinternational, classic · Bright
• Sofiainternational, classic · A form of Sophia
• Amarainternational · Grace
• Ameliaclassic · A variant of Amalia

Read the UK naming guide for the difference between inspiration lists and official statistics, or return to the full name finder.

Registering or changing the name

Once you decide on Isabella, confirm the registration process for your UK nation with the register office. If you later want to change a registered name, the route depends on the circumstances and may require consent from people with parental responsibility.

Start with GOV.UK birth registration or GOV.UK guidance on changing a child’s name. Our registration guide and child name-change guide explain where to find the relevant official process.