Given name
Isobel
“my God is bountiful”
Isobel has a related form in Isabel. In Spanish use, Isabel carries the interpretation “my God is bountiful.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Isobel has a related form in Isabel. In Spanish use, Isabel carries the interpretation “my God is bountiful.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Isobel is a form of Isabel. Isabel comes from Spanish, and ultimately from Hebrew.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
Isobel is used as a variant of Isabel.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1894. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Isobel through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,802
- 0 boys · 3,802 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 129 babies
- 2025
- 79
- #2,307 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −17%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 79 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 2,307 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 16.7% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 129 in 2016. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (11). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,764 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Isobel’s family of names
In English usage, Isobel has a diminutive in Izzy. In German usage, Isobel has a related form in Isabel. In Scottish Gaelic usage, Isobel has a conventional equivalent in the German form Isabel.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Isobel
- Bel PowleyBritish actress (born 1992)
- Isobel CampbellBritish singerborn 1976
- Isobel ElsomBritish actress (1893–1981)
- Izzy ChristiansenEnglish footballer (born 1991)
- Louise GuthrieSouth African botanist (1879-1966)
- Isobel Wylie HutchisonScottish Arctic traveller and botanist (1889-1982)
- Izzy BizuBritish singerborn 1994
- Isobel JoyceFemale Irish cricketerborn 1983
- Isobel BorlaseAustralian basketball player (born 2004)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Isobel, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Isabell
“my God is bountiful”
>99% girls
Izabella
“my God is bountiful”
>99% girls
Elah
“terebinth”
>99% girls
Adaiah
“Yahweh has adorned” · “ornament of the Lord”
16% boys · 84% girls
Ivry
Ivry is a surname from Hebrew.
>99% girls
Ysabelle
“my God is bountiful”
>99% girls
Asherah
“progression” · “happiness”
>99% girls
Adalia
>99% girls