Bella is a girl name with a modern feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Bella means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Bella across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Bella has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Bella is a girl name of Italian origin meaning “beautiful”. also a short form of Isabella.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 83,766 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 13,893 births |
| Scotland since 1974 | 892 births |
| Northern Ireland since 1997 | 554 births |
| Ireland since 1964 | 896 births |
| New Zealand top 100, since 1954 | 1,671 births |
Counts come from official national birth-registration statistics: U.S. Social Security Administration, England & Wales (Office for National Statistics), Scotland (National Records of Scotland), Northern Ireland (NISRA), Ireland (Central Statistics Office) and New Zealand (Dept. of Internal Affairs). Coverage spans differ, so totals aren't directly comparable across countries.
Babies named Bella per year, United States (1880 to 2025). United States peaked in 2010 (5,144/yr) · England & Wales peaked in 2014 (1,141/yr) · Ireland peaked in 2021 (81/yr) · Scotland peaked in 2019 (76/yr) · Northern Ireland peaked in 2019 (54/yr).
Bella has been a fairly common baby name in the United States. It was most common in 2010, when it ranked #130 nationally (given to 5,787 babies that year), and a popular choice in the 2010s.
Billy · Billie · Bill · Beulah · Belle · Bell · Billye · Beaulah
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