Isabel
A feminine Spanish name derived from Elizabeth, meaning "devoted to God."
Name Census estimates that about 100,162 living Americans carry the first name Isabel. It sits at #167 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly female name (98.6% of registrations). The average person named Isabel today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Isabel births was 2006 (4,019 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Isabel. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Isabel with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Isabel is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 1,827 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
100K
~ 1 in 3,422 Americans
Peak year
2006
4,019 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2022 SSA rank
#167
Tracked since 1880
Census
Isabel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 129,716 people with the first name Isabel, which placed it at #435 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#435
National first-name rank
People counted
130K
129,716 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
42.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
67.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Isabel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Isabel is Hispanic at 67.0%. The next largest groups are White (25.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Isabel described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Isabel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino67.0% · 86,963
- White25.9% · 33,548
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.0% · 3,952
- Two or more races2.4% · 3,061
- Black or African American1.4% · 1,777
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 415
Gender
Gender distribution for Isabel
Isabel leans heavily female at 98.6% of total registrations, but 1,827 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Isabel as a male name
- Ranked #13,087 in 2022
- 5 male births in 2022
- Peak: 1927 (40 births)
Isabel as a female name
- Ranked #167 in 2024
- 1,820 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2006 (4,009 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Isabel leans strongly female. 127,675 people counted with this name were female (98.4%), compared with 2,036 male bearers (1.6%).
Popularity
Isabel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Isabel from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 36,121 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Isabel 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 Isabel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Isabels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Isabel, while Wyoming, Delaware, Vermont recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 2,383 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Isabel
The name Isabel is derived from the Hebrew name Elisheba, which means "God is my oath." The name has its roots in the medieval Spanish and Portuguese forms of the name Elizabeth, such as Isabel and Isabela.
The name gained popularity in the 12th century when it was borne by Isabel of Hainault, the wife of Philip II of France. Isabel of Aragon, born in 1271, was a powerful queen of Portugal who helped bring stability to the kingdom during her reign.
In the 13th century, the name Isabel was used by Isabel de Valois, the third wife of King Richard II of England. She was born in 1389 and was a prominent figure in the Wars of the Roses.
One of the most famous bearers of the name was Isabella I of Castile, born in 1451, who ruled jointly with her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon. Together, they are known as the Catholic Monarchs, and their marriage united Spain and marked the beginning of the Spanish Empire.
In the 16th century, Isabel de Portugal, born in 1503, was a powerful and influential figure as the wife of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. She played a significant role in the political and cultural affairs of the time.
Another notable Isabel was Isabel Clara Eugenia, born in 1566, who was the co-sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands and an influential patron of the arts and culture during the Dutch Revolt.
These are just a few examples of the many notable women throughout history who bore the name Isabel, a name that has been associated with power, strength, and cultural influence across various eras and regions.
People
Isabel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Isabel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Isabel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Isabel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 100,162 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Isabel 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 3,422 US residents.
Is Isabel a common name?
We classify Isabel as "Common". It ranks above 99.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 132,214 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Isabel most popular?
The single biggest year for Isabel was 2006, when 4,019 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Isabel is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Isabel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 129,716 people with the name Isabel, or 42.95 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #435 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Isabel in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Isabel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Isabel leans strongly female. 127,675 people counted with this name were female (98.4%), compared with 2,036 male bearers (1.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Isabel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Isabel is Hispanic at 67.0%. The next largest groups are White (25.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Isabel most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Isabel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.0% (86,963 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Isabel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Isabel a female name?
Yes, 98.6% of people registered as Isabel 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.
Is Isabel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Isabel in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Isabel can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many Americans are named Isabel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.