Bella Name Meaning, Origin, Popularity, Girl Names Like Bella

Bella Name Origin: Italian
Pronunciation: bell-ah
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Bella Name Meaning

Soft and sweet, Bella has been winning over parents with her fabulous meaning of “beautiful one.” Used as a nickname for longer names like Isabella and Arabella, Bella has stepped out of their shadows and into the spotlight in recent years.

Bella was relatively rare in the States before jetting to the top of the charts in the early 2000s. Her rise to fame can be attributed to Bella Swan, the main character of the best-selling young adult novel Twilight that was roaring in popularity at the time of her climb. While she’s never hit the top ten, she’s more common than one might think, as she’s a preferred nickname of all the -bella names.

Despite her popularity, Bella is a wonderful choice for a little one, a feminine moniker with endless potential. She’s today’s Betty, wearing well on any little girl whether she’s a pampered princess or artistic all-star. As she grows her Italian roots give her a subtle romantic feel, bringing to mind vineyards and moonlit gondola rides. This touch of exotic coloring gives her an invaluable edge above the competition.

Belle is a French variant of the name. Bella can also be a shortened form of Bellatrix or Belinda.

Bella Name Popularity

How popular is the name Bella? Here’s everything we know.

Year	Rank	# Births	% Births
1910	404	59	0.0168%
1911	404	59	0.0158%
1912	423	82	0.0163%
1913	445	81	0.0143%
1914	405	128	0.0184%
1915	466	129	0.0142%
1916	428	171	0.0177%
1917	423	181	0.0181%
1918	409	212	0.0198%
1919	434	189	0.018%
1920	486	156	0.014%
1921	506	148	0.0129%
1922	503	147	0.0132%
1923	535	132	0.0118%
1924	612	106	0.0091%
1925	614	98	0.0087%
1926	729	61	0.0055%
1927	718	61	0.0055%
1928	834	39	0.0036%
1929	733	55	0.0053%
1930	818	40	0.0038%
1931	969	21	0.0021%
1932	915	25	0.0025%
1933	1,048	16	0.0017%
1934	1,061	15	0.0016%
1935	1,586	5	0.0005%
1936	1,273	8	0.0008%
1937	1,210	10	0.001%
1938	—	0	0%
1939	1,207	11	0.0011%
1940	1,396	6	0.0006%
1941	1,680	5	0.0004%
1942	—	0	0%
1943	—	0	0%
1944	—	0	0%
1945	—	0	0%
1946	1,581	6	0.0004%
1947	1,443	12	0.0007%
1948	1,649	7	0.0004%
1949	1,564	8	0.0005%
1950	1,639	7	0.0004%
1951	1,673	7	0.0004%
1952	1,644	8	0.0005%
1953	1,360	17	0.001%
1954	1,854	6	0.0003%
1955	1,464	16	0.0009%
1956	1,855	7	0.0004%
1957	2,227	5	0.0003%
1958	1,910	7	0.0004%
1959	—	0	0%
1960	1,875	8	0.0004%
1961	—	0	0%
1962	2,049	6	0.0003%
1963	2,166	5	0.0003%
1964	—	0	0%
1965	1,780	11	0.0007%
1966	2,008	7	0.0004%
1967	—	0	0%
1968	1,858	11	0.0007%
1969	2,292	6	0.0004%
1970	2,198	8	0.0005%
1971	—	0	0%
1972	2,556	5	0.0004%
1973	1,862	13	0.001%
1974	2,333	6	0.0005%
1975	1,697	20	0.0016%
1976	2,270	7	0.0005%
1977	2,376	7	0.0005%
1978	2,363	8	0.0006%
1979	2,215	11	0.0008%
1980	2,474	8	0.0005%
1981	2,648	7	0.0005%
1982	2,598	7	0.0005%
1983	2,191	12	0.0008%
1984	2,210	13	0.0009%
1985	2,461	10	0.0007%
1986	—	0	0%
1987	2,818	7	0.0005%
1988	2,270	15	0.001%
1989	2,512	14	0.0009%
1990	2,477	15	0.0009%
1991	1,955	29	0.0018%
1992	2,425	17	0.0011%
1993	1,875	33	0.0021%
1994	1,746	39	0.0025%
1995	1,282	80	0.0053%
1996	1,524	55	0.0037%
1997	1,585	52	0.0035%
1998	1,192	104	0.0069%
1999	1,086	131	0.0087%
2000	776	245	0.016%
2001	633	354	0.0235%
2002	426	653	0.0436%
2003	321	941	0.0619%
2004	257	1,226	0.0804%
2005	208	1,652	0.108%
2006	180	1,938	0.1238%
2007	159	2,235	0.1417%
2008	121	2,780	0.1799%
2009	58	4,532	0.3032%
2010	48	5,118	0.3552%
2011	60	4,264	0.2993%
2012	54	4,345	0.3049%
2013	58	4,172	0.293%
2014	70	4,082	0.2802%
2015	74	3,785	0.2601%
2016	78	3,640	0.2525%
2017	50	4,605	0.33%
2018	48	4,509	0.3282%
2019	50	4,342	0.3207%

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Data via SSA.gov.

Names Like Bella

If you like Bella, you’ll love these other names like Bella.

What names are diminutives of Bella?

A diminutive is a name that’s like Bella sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Bella, but shorter.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Bel	Prayerful; beautiful; God's promise	Latin
Bell	“The beautiful,” from the French belle, beautiful.	Hebrew
Belle	Beautiful	French

What names are variants of Bella?

Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name Bella.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Annabella	He (God) has favored me	Hebrew
Arabella	Answered prayer	Latin
Bellissa	Beautiful	Latin
Claribel	Bright; beautiful	English
Elizabeth	God is my oath	Hebrew
Isabella	Devoted to God	Italian
Labella	Beautiful	Latin
Mirabella	Wonderful	Latin

What names sound like Bella?

If you like how Bella sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Bella.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Belia	God's promise	Hebrew
Beula	Bride	Hebrew
Billa	Will helmet, protection	German

Ella	Other goddess	Hebrew
Nell	Horn; sun ray, shining light	Latin
Nellie	Horn; sun ray, shining light	Latin
Pella	Rock	Greek
Stella	Celestial star	Latin

What names are similar to Bella?

Find a name that’s like Bella, but just a little bit different.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Emma	Whole or universal	German
Gracie	Graceful	English
Holly	The holly tree	English
Layla	Night	Arabic
Lilah	Night	Arabic
Mia	Dear	Scandinavian
Molly	Of the sea	English
Olivia	Olive tree	Latin
Sadie	Princess	Hebrew
Sophia	Wisdom	Greek

Lists With Bella

Find inspiration in these baby girl name lists featuring the name Bella.

Siblings of Bella

Mamas with kids named Bella also have kids with these names.

Name	Meaning	Origin	Popularity	Other Gender

Jace	To heal	American
Emylee	Rival; laborious; eager	Latin
Reagan	Descendent of Riagan	Irish
Aiden	Little fire	Irish

Share Your Thoughts

15 Comments

Jamie May 22 at 9:59 am

After a grandparent

Reply
Angie May 5 at 2:04 pm

My oldest son Aden has an English name which means handsome Dr. My second is Fallon her name is Irish and my 3rd is Bella which is Spanish . I have the same birthday as Mary Queen of Scots

Reply
Angie May 4 at 6:45 pm

Well my middle baby is Fallon my oldest son is Aden one has an English name one is Irish and my daughter is Spanish

Reply
Quintoria Apr 28 at 12:52 pm

My mother names my daughter. She gave me two name Bailey or Bella and I chose Bella. It means beautiful.

Reply
Becca Feb 4 at 1:26 am

We chose the name Bella for a few different reasons. The main reason is my name is Rebecca and starts with an “R” but I go by the name “Becca” for short and my other daughters name started with an “R”, so decided first I wanted a “B” name second (Bella) means: [ Beautiful ] in Spanish and its also very similar to my name if you change the C’s into L’s. Also I was in my late 20s when the ” Twilight” series came out in movies and I fell in love with them immediately and really liked the main girls name “Bella” and kind of wished thought then if I had the chance to have another daughter that would be it!

Reply
Jamie Jan 7 at 4:37 pm

I just loved the name

Reply
Shateeka Dec 28 at 11:42 am

Because it means beautiful.

Reply
Rochelle Oct 7 at 12:05 pm

Our 6 year old named her

Reply
Brittany Farmer Sep 30 at 12:38 pm

Our baby girl’s name is Bella Reece. When we found out we were expecting, we already had an idea on names. I knew if the baby was going to be a girl I wanted her middle name to be Reece. Her daddy literaly woke up one day and said “I like the name Bella”. And we knew then that’s was her name.

Reply
Cayla Sep 23 at 6:26 pm

My first borns name was supposed to be renesme but my grandma said if I named her that she’d never speak to me again. And she said that as my girl was crowning about to come out. So quick thinking her name came to be Bella Lynn. Bella came from my little cousins Nick name off of beauty and the beast Belle and Lynn came from my mom’s middle name.

Reply
Taylor Aug 17 at 8:42 pm

My husband chose her first name as Bella because we live in Georgia and he is as southern as it gets and when I asked why Bella he said because we live in the south so instead of southern belle she can be our southern Bella. I love her name her first and middle is special to us Bella because she is mine and my husbands first child and her middle name is Rae after my uncle passed away.

Reply
DeAndrea Aug 14 at 5:03 am

My Dad names me Bella

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Stephanie Jul 28 at 12:41 pm

We hope she displays the beauty and joy of God.

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Stephanie Jun 14 at 3:52 pm

We pray she appreciates and reflects the beauty of God! (Bella means ‘beautiful.’)

Reply
Jasmine Jun 9 at 9:39 am

I was going for the letter B n Bella just came to me n I stuck with it not to many name start with a b is pretty so when I thought about Bella a said o yea a pretty name for a pretty girl Bella is my second born she got her looks from her dad in sister but of course ended up with my attitude n if she anything like her big sister Brielle witch is 3 she gonna be a sassy lil thing but I adore my lil ones in very much great full for them

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Bella