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At a glance

In short
Isabel is the Spanish and Portuguese form of Elizabeth, from Hebrew Elisheba.
U.S. rank 2025
#176 of girl names
Babies in 2025
1,746 (0.099% of girls)
Trend
Slipping #157 in 2020 to #176 in 2025
Peak
#83 in 2003
First recorded
1880

Meaning of Isabel

Isabel is the Spanish and Portuguese form of Elizabeth, which comes from the Hebrew name Elisheba, usually explained as "my God is an oath." It has also been used in Britain since the Middle Ages. In Spanish it is pronounced ee-sah-BEL; in English it is usually IZ-uh-bel.

In fiction, Isabel Archer is the heroine of Henry James's novel The Portrait of a Lady. Well-known namesakes include the Chilean American novelist Isabel Allende, author of The House of the Spirits, and Isabel Wilkerson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who wrote The Warmth of Other Suns.

In the U.S., Isabel climbed from 404th among girls' names in 1989 to its highest rank, 83rd, in 2003. It has slipped down the rankings since then, to 176th in 2025, when 1,746 girls were given the name.

How to pronounce Isabel

English

Spanish

Popularity of Isabel in the U.S.

Isabel was the #176 girl name in the U.S. in 2025, with 1,746 babies. It peaked at #83 in 2003 and has been in the top 1,000 since 1880.

Bar and line chart: Isabel in the U.S., 1880–2025. Bars: girls given the name each year, most 4,009 in 2006 and 1,746 in 2025. Line: rank among girl names, peak #83 in 2003, #176 in 2025.
  • Girls named Isabel (left scale)
  • Rank among U.S. girl names (right scale, #1 at the top)
By year, 1880–2025. Source: SSA. Download: PNG · SVG
Year-by-year table, 1880⁠–⁠2025 146 rows
Isabel: babies and rank among girl names in the U.S. by year
YearBabiesRankvs previous year
20251,746176▼ 9
20241,826167▼ 3
20231,753164▼ 8
20221,858156▼ 10
20211,917146▲ 11
20201,771157▼ 23
20192,059134▲ 5
20182,068139▲ 6
20172,036145–
20162,120145▲ 4
20152,177149▼ 5
20142,331144▼ 8
20132,341136▼ 2
20122,383134▼ 6
20112,413128▼ 12
20102,658116▼ 7
20092,988109▼ 12
20083,48997▼ 10
20073,86487–
20064,00987▲ 2
20053,61189▼ 1
20043,63888▼ 5
20033,85383▲ 2
20023,65185▲ 3
20013,49188▲ 6
20003,44894▲ 3
19993,40597▲ 21
19982,827118▲ 23
19972,259141▲ 56
19961,470197▲ 20
19951,297217▲ 27
19941,131244▲ 13
19931,076257▲ 10
19921,053267▲ 63
1991801330▲ 9
1990785339▲ 65
1989613404▲ 14
1988558418▲ 27
1987494445▲ 2
1986484447▼ 20
1985515427▲ 56
1984419483▼ 14
1983430469▼ 27
1982487442▲ 17
1981466459▼ 24
1980496435▲ 46
1979424481▲ 30
1978365511▼ 27
1977392484▼ 20
1976411464▼ 3
1975408461▲ 12
1974381473▲ 21
1973352494▲ 3
1972356497▼ 34
1971436463▲ 20
1970415483▲ 13
1969384496–
1968381496▲ 9
1967352505▼ 8
1966354497▲ 30
1965327527▼ 34
1964390493▲ 5
1963380498▼ 8
1962393490▲ 21
1961366511▼ 19
1960391492–
1959390492▲ 14
1958359506▼ 57
1957440449▲ 7
1956405456▼ 39
1955450417▲ 44
1954368461▼ 72
1953480389▲ 22
1952419411▲ 27
1951368438▼ 17
1950362421▼ 19
1949394402▲ 7
1948374409▲ 5
1947378414▼ 6
1946353408▲ 22
1945275430▼ 23
1944309407▼ 20
1943356387▲ 4
1942333391▼ 24
1941335367▼ 8
1940328359▼ 14
1939340345▼ 2
1938350343▼ 33
1937399310▲ 2
1936376312▼ 20
1935425292▲ 8
1934430300▼ 16
1933450284▼ 12
1932516272▼ 14
1931561258▼ 1
1930595257▼ 22
1929672235▲ 13
1928651248▼ 9
1927731239▼ 1
1926744238▼ 26
1925900212▲ 3
1924911215▲ 6
1923855221▼ 3
1922888218▼ 11
1921971207▼ 8
1920992199▼ 3
1919957196▼ 6
19181,041190▲ 7
1917931197▼ 14
19161,000183▼ 6
1915943177▲ 2
1914747179▼ 2
1913657177▼ 2
1912556175▼ 7
1911447168▲ 8
1910389176▼ 7
1909356169▼ 1
1908351168▲ 2
1907326170▼ 1
1906317169▲ 7
1905292176▲ 4
1904271180–
1903257180▼ 1
1902256179▲ 15
1901214194▼ 10
1900286184▼ 8
1899243176▲ 8
1898252184▲ 4
1897210188▼ 9
1896232179▲ 5
1895212184▼ 16
1894241168▲ 17
1893189185▲ 15
1892158200▼ 11
1891150189▼ 4
1890160185▲ 1
1889153186▲ 1
1888144187▲ 5
1887109192▼ 16
1886131176▲ 9
1885102185▼ 10
1884102175▲ 7
188383182▲ 12
188272194▼ 20
188176174▼ 13
188081161–

Isabel by state

Isabel ranks #73 in the District of Columbia (2025).

Map: Isabel's 2025 rank among girl names in each U.S. state
Rank among girl names by state, 2025. Source: SSA. Download: PNG · SVG
Rank by state 45 states and DC
Isabel: rank and babies by state, 2025
StateRankBabies
District of Columbia739
Alaska907
Massachusetts10252
Rhode Island1038
Arizona10658
California108273
New Mexico11112
Delaware1157
Washington11655
Oregon11928
Nevada11919
Colorado13141
Hawaii1366
Minnesota13839
New York144113
Texas146218
Oklahoma15125
Maryland15631
Illinois15763
Florida171101
New Jersey17447
Connecticut17518
South Dakota1886
Kansas20116
Virginia20440
Michigan20644
Montana2085
Maine2095
North Carolina21251
South Carolina21922
Wisconsin22025
Kentucky22720
Utah23919
Idaho2449
Arkansas25012
Pennsylvania26441
Missouri26523
Nebraska2678
Ohio28039
Tennessee28227
Iowa30111
Georgia30534
Indiana35919
Louisiana36912
Alabama37213
Mississippi5145
U.S. territories
Puerto Rico1687

Notable people named Isabel

  • Isabel Allende is a Chilean American novelist, famed for magical realism in The House of the Spirits and City of the Beasts, and honored with major awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
  • Isabel Martínez de Perón is an Argentine politician who was the first woman to serve as president of a country, leading Argentina from 1974 to 1976.
  • Isabel Roberts was a Prairie School architect who worked in the Oak Park Studio of Frank Lloyd Wright and later partnered with Ida Annah Ryan in the Orlando firm Ryan and Roberts.
  • Isabel Lucas is an Australian actress, model, and environmentalist known for Home and Away and films like Transformers and Immortals, later joining MacGyver and winning Scream and Young Hollywood awards.
  • Isabel Wilkerson is an American journalist and author of The Warmth of Other Suns and Caste, and the first African American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in journalism.
More people named Isabel 8 more
  • Isabel Briggs Myers was an American writer who co-created the widely used Myers-Briggs Type Indicator with her mother, Katharine Cook Briggs, and identified as an INFP.
  • Isabel Townsend Pell was an American socialite who joined the French Resistance in World War II and was later honored with the Legion of Honour.
  • Isabel Sylvia Margaret Maxwell is a French born entrepreneur and Magellan cofounder, a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer who later served as president of Commtouch and directed Israel Venture Network's social entrepreneur program from 2004 to 2010.
  • Isabel Granada — Isabella Villarama Granada was a singer and actress from the Philippines.
  • Maria Isabel Preysler Arrastia is a Spanish and Filipino socialite and television host, and the mother of Enrique Iglesias, Julio Iglesias Jr., Chabeli Iglesias, Tamara Falco, 6th Marchioness of Grinon, and Ana Boyer Preysler.
  • Isabel Sandoval is a US-based Filipino filmmaker and actress who directed Señorita (2011), Aparisyon (2012), Lingua Franca (2019) and the short Shangri-La (2021).
  • Isabel Toledo was a Cuban American fashion designer in New York City celebrated for meticulous craftsmanship and elegant simplicity.
  • Isabel Gunn was a Scottish laborer who disguised herself as a man to work for the Hudson's Bay Company, becoming the first European woman to reach what is now Western Canada until giving birth in 1807 revealed her secret.