Isabelle
A traditionally feminine name of French origin meaning "God's promise" or "consecrated to God".
Name Census estimates that about 81,744 living Americans carry the first name Isabelle. It sits at #170 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Isabelle today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Isabelle births was 2007 (4,105 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Isabelle. 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
82K
~ 1 in 4,193 Americans
Peak year
2007
4,105 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2008 SSA rank
#170
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Isabelle
Out of the 105,938 babies given the name Isabelle since 1880, 100.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Isabelle as a male name
- Ranked #13,296 in 2008
- 5 male births in 2008
- Peak: 2004 (9 births)
Isabelle as a female name
- Ranked #170 in 2024
- 1,778 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2007 (4,105 births)
Popularity
Isabelle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Isabelle 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 32,888 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Isabelle remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Isabelle 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 Isabelle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Isabelles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Isabelle, while Wyoming, Delaware, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,895 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Isabelle
The name Isabelle is derived from the Hebrew name Elisheba, meaning "God is my oath." It is the French and English form of the Spanish name Isabel, which was originally derived from the medieval Occitan name Isabela. The name gained popularity in France and England during the Middle Ages.
Isabelle first appeared in the 12th century as a variant of the name Elisabeth. One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Isabelle was in reference to Queen Isabelle of Hainault, who lived from 1170 to 1190 and was the wife of King Philip II of France.
In the 13th century, the name Isabelle gained further prominence when it was borne by Saint Isabelle of France, who lived from 1225 to 1270. She was the sister of King Louis IX of France and founded the Franciscan monastery of Longchamp in Paris.
During the 14th century, the name Isabelle was associated with Queen Isabelle of France, who lived from 1292 to 1358 and was the wife of King Edward II of England. She played a significant role in the deposition of her husband and the accession of their son, Edward III, to the English throne.
In the 15th century, the name Isabelle was borne by Queen Isabelle I of Castile, who lived from 1451 to 1504. She was known as Queen Isabella the Catholic and was a key figure in the Spanish Inquisition and the financing of Christopher Columbus's expeditions to the Americas.
Another notable figure in history with the name Isabelle was the French novelist and playwright Isabelle de Charrière, who lived from 1740 to 1805. She was a prominent figure in the Enlightenment and was known for her works that explored themes of gender and social equality.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Isabelle
People
Isabelle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Isabelle 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
Isabelle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Isabelle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 81,744 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Isabelle 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 4,193 US residents.
Is Isabelle a common name?
We classify Isabelle as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 105,938 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Isabelle most popular?
The single biggest year for Isabelle was 2007, when 4,105 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Isabelle is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Isabelle a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Isabelle 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.