Belle
A feminine name of French origin meaning "beautiful".
Name Census estimates that about 6,465 living Americans carry the first name Belle. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Belle today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Belle births was 1915 (407 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Belle. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
6.5K
~ 1 in 53,017 Americans
Peak year
1915
407 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,005
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Belle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Belle from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 2,901 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Belle remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Belle by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Belle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Belles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 40 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Belle, while Montana, Maine, New Mexico recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 184 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Belle
The name Belle originates from the French language and is a feminine form of the French word "beau" or "bel", meaning beautiful or handsome. This name first gained prominence in the 12th century during the Middle Ages in France.
Belle was initially used as a descriptive term rather than a given name, often appearing in medieval French literature and poetry to describe a beautiful or admirable woman. Over time, it transitioned into a commonly used first name, particularly among the French nobility and upper classes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Belle can be found in the 13th-century French medieval romance "Le Bel Inconnu" (The Fair Unknown), where the female protagonist is referred to as Belle. This literary work is believed to have contributed significantly to the popularization of the name.
In the 14th century, Belle emerged as a standalone given name, gracing notable figures such as Belle de Bourbon (1339-1390), a member of the French royal family. During the Renaissance period, the name gained further traction, particularly among the aristocracy and artistic circles.
Belle has been associated with several famous individuals throughout history, including:
1. Belle da Costa Greene (1879-1950), an American librarian and bibliographer who played a crucial role in developing the Pierpont Morgan Library's collection.
2. Belle Starr (1848-1889), an American outlaw and horse thief who gained notoriety in the American Old West.
3. Belle Boyd (1844-1900), a Confederate spy during the American Civil War, renowned for her intelligence and daring exploits.
4. Belle Aurore (1938-2021), a French singer and actress known for her contributions to the yé-yé pop music genre.
5. Belle Bilton (1867-1949), an English actress and singer who performed in various stage productions and pantomimes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
While the name Belle has retained its French roots, it has also gained popularity in various other cultures and languages, particularly in English-speaking countries, where it is often associated with beauty, grace, and charm.
People
Belle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Belle as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Belle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Belle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6,465 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Belle going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 53,017 US residents.
Is Belle a common name?
We classify Belle as "Rare". It ranks above 97% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 18,976 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Belle most popular?
The single biggest year for Belle was 1915, when 407 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Belle is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Belle a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Belle in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.