Given name & surname
Bella
“a woman famed for her beauty”
Bella is used as a given name and a surname. One Italian interpretation is “a woman famed for her beauty.” Its derivation is not certain.
Original ItalianBellina
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Italian interpretation is “a woman famed for her beauty.” Its derivation is not certain.
Where it comes from
A possible origin is Italian, although the derivation remains uncertain.
How it developed
In English usage, Bella is a diminutive of Isabella. Bella is a short form of Isabella.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Bella through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 83,766
- 45 boys · 83,721 girls
- Most popular year
- 2010
- 5,144 babies
- 2025
- 2,129
- #136 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −36%
- Cooling
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 2,129 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 136 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 35.8% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 5,136 in 2010. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (319). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 66,739 as a first name in 2020; 2,341 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Bella’s family of names
In English usage, Bella is a diminutive of Isabella. In Italian usage, Bella shares a linguistic root with the English form Belinda. In Dutch usage, Bella has a related form in Belle.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Bella has relatives in 11 languages. Lines run from its Italian roots to each of them.
Italianwhere Bella comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 15
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 4
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 8
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 5
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Bella
- Bella HadidAmerican modelborn 1996
- Bella RamseyBritish actorborn 2003
- Bella AbzugAmerican politician (1920-1998)
- Bella Darviactress (1928-1971)
- Bel KaufmanAmerican novelist, teacher (1911-2014)
- Bella RosenfeldAmerican writer and artist model (1889-1944)
- Bella DavidovichAmerican musicianborn 1928
- Bella AgossouBeninese actressborn 1981
- Bella SimsAmerican swimmerborn 2005
Characters named Bella: Bella Swan (character and the protagonist of the Twilight series).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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If you love Bella, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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