Isobel
A feminine form of the Hebrew name Isabel, meaning "God's promise".
Name Census estimates that about 2,517 living Americans carry the first name Isobel. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Isobel today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Isobel births was 2016 (129 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Isobel. 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
2.5K
~ 1 in 136,176 Americans
Peak year
2016
129 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,351
Tracked since 1894
Popularity
Isobel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Isobel from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 981 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Isobel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Isobel 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 Isobel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Isobels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. California, New York, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Isobel, while West Virginia, Indiana, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 62 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Isobel
The name Isobel has its origins in the medieval Scottish and English form of the Hebrew name Isabel, which in turn is derived from the biblical name Elizabeth. Elizabeth itself is thought to come from the Hebrew words "el sheva" meaning "God is my oath" or "God is abundance."
Isobel emerged as a distinct spelling variation of the name during the 12th century, particularly in Scotland and northern England. It was likely influenced by the French and Norman form of the name, Isabelle, which was brought to Britain after the Norman Conquest in 1066.
One of the earliest known historical references to the name Isobel can be found in the 13th-century chronicle "Chronica de Mailros," which mentions an Isobel of Huntingdon who lived in the late 12th century. Another early record is from the 14th century, where an Isobel Douglas is mentioned as the wife of Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray.
In literature, the name Isobel appears in the 15th-century Scottish epic poem "The Brus" by John Barbour, where it is used for the character of Isobel, Queen of Norway and wife of King Eric II. The name also features in Shakespeare's play "Measure for Measure," where a character named Isobel is introduced.
Some notable historical figures named Isobel include:
1. Isobel Heton (c. 1432 - 1472), an English noblewoman and the wife of Sir William Neville.
2. Isobel Ingram (c. 1498 - 1558), a Scottish courtier and mistress of King James IV of Scotland.
3. Isobel Buchanan (c. 1620 - 1681), a Scottish poet and translator.
4. Isobel Gowdie (c. 1662 - 1662), a Scottish woman accused of witchcraft and one of the most famous individuals caught up in the Scottish witch trials.
5. Isobel Gunn (1781 - 1857), a Scottish traveler and author who published a memoir of her travels in India and Europe.
The name Isobel has a rich history and has been used throughout the centuries, particularly in Scotland and northern England, with various notable bearers leaving their mark in different fields such as literature, nobility, and exploration.
People
Isobel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Isobel 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
Isobel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Isobel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,517 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Isobel 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 136,176 US residents.
Is Isobel a common name?
We classify Isobel as "Rare". It ranks above 94.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,722 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Isobel most popular?
The single biggest year for Isobel was 2016, when 129 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Isobel is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Isobel a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Isobel 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.