Girl's name
Arabella
Say it air-uh-BEL-uh
Latin origin possibly yielding to prayer
4 syllables
Where Arabella is loved, common and rare
Common across the UK, Ireland and one more place. Rare in Ontario, Switzerland, Italy and one more place.
1 in 185 girls born in England and Wales in 2025
England and Wales 22ndScotland 42ndNorthern Ireland 87th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 9 of the 40 official lists, among them England and Wales (22nd), Scotland (42nd) and Northern Ireland (87th).
Show all 9 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 22nd 2025 | 1,368 | 1 in 185 |
| Scotland | 42nd 2025 | 92 | 1 in 194 |
| New Zealand | 78th 2025 | 49 | rank only |
| Northern Ireland | 87th 2025 | 24 | 1 in 304 |
| Ireland | 96th 2025 | 51 | 1 in 414 |
| Ontario province | 298th 2024 | 42 | about 1 in 1,297 |
| Switzerland | 1414th 2025 | 3 | 1 in 11,331 |
| Italy | 2927th 2024 | 2 | 1 in 89,585 |
| France | 3366th 2025 | 5 | 1 in 57,359 |
Rare, below the listed names: Quebec, British Columbia, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, the Netherlands, Austria, Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Catalonia, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Sources: Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), SmartStart (New Zealand); NISRA (Northern Ireland); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France). How we count, and every source
About the name
The origin of Arabella is uncertain. It has been used in Scotland since the sixteenth century, and it may come from Latin orabilis, 'yielding to prayer', or be a variant of Annabel.
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Its four syllables, air-uh-BEL-uh, give it a graceful, rolling rhythm. Bella is the obvious short form, Arabel and Arbella are variants, and Annabel is a related name.
Arabella ranks high in England and Wales and in Scotland, and is used in New Zealand, while it is very rare elsewhere in Europe. The Ontario and British Columbia records first show it in 2005 and place its peak in 2017. It is rising in the few places where a trend is recorded.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- air-uh-BEL-uh, 4 syllables
- Meaning
possibly yielding to prayer
- Origin
- Latin
- Other spellings
- Annabel
- Arabel
- Arbella
- Anabella
- Arabela
Etymology
Uncertain, used in Scotland since the sixteenth century; possibly from Latin orabilis (“yielding to prayer”) or a variant of Annabel.
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 3 of 5 regions, falling in none.
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Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 94 | 83 | 88 | 71 | 40 | 47 | 47 | 43 | 30 | 22 |
| Scotland | 174 | 191 | 193 | 117 | 100 | 96 | 83 | 83 | 57 | 42 |
| Northern Ireland | 211 | 296 | 361 | 178 | 84 | 123 | 135 | 135 | 93 | 87 |
| Ireland | 302 | 365 | 474 | 201 | 207 | 154 | 142 | 114 | 108 | 96 |
| Ontario | 308 | 283 | 288 | 285 | 334 | 336 | 343 | 347 | 298 | |
| British Columbia | 263 | 196 | 283 | 210 | 441 | 398 | 264 | |||
| Queensland | 94 | |||||||||
| South Australia | 91 | 114 | ||||||||
| New Zealand | 94 | 88 | 85 | 78 | ||||||
| Quebec | 651 | 722 | ||||||||
| France | 3622 | 3605 | 3366 | |||||||
| Estonia | 21 | 18 | 19 | 13 | 8 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 22 | 1,368 | 540.1 |
| 2024 | 30 | 1,222 | 473.7 |
| 2023 | 43 | 1,029 | 401.1 |
| 2022 | 47 | 1,019 | 386.7 |
| 2021 | 47 | 1,012 | 369.3 |
| 2020 | 40 | 1,095 | 408.0 |
| 2019 | 71 | 775 | 276.7 |
| 2018 | 88 | 619 | 214.7 |
| 2017 | 83 | 639 | 213.6 |
| 2016 | 94 | 577 | 187.9 |
| 2015 | 95 | 585 | 190.0 |
| 2014 | 126 | 439 | 143.2 |
| 2013 | 157 | 329 | 106.7 |
| 2012 | 177 | 286 | 88.8 |
| 2011 | 208 | 242 | 75.3 |
| 2010 | 228 | 218 | 67.9 |
| 2009 | 296 | 160 | 51.1 |
| 2008 | 325 | 138 | 43.7 |
| 2007 | 329 | 133 | 43.4 |
| 2006 | 394 | 107 | 35.8 |
| 2005 | 390 | 101 | 35.0 |
| 2004 | 419 | 86 | 30.1 |
| 2003 | 427 | 82 | 29.4 |
| 2002 | 493 | 61 | 22.8 |
| 2001 | 449 | 68 | 25.4 |
| 2000 | 545 | 50 | 18.3 |
| 1999 | 498 | 58 | 20.6 |
| 1998 | 501 | 55 | 19.0 |
| 1997 | 515 | 53 | 18.1 |
| 1996 | 519 | 49 | 16.6 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
Ontario and British Columbia since 1925
Half of the babies named Arabella in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 2016. First recorded in 2005. Her peak year there: 2017, at 86.3 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Arabella per 100,000 girls born in Ontario and British Columbia, by five-year period. Her 2017 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (1917-2024), OGL-Ontario; BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (1924-2023), OGL-BC.
Sister names for Arabella
1 in 86 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Arabella. Same first letter as Arabella.
1 in 215 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Arabella.
1 in 338 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Arabella.
1 in 114 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Arabella.
1 in 183 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Arabella.
1 in 365 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Arabella.
1 in 131 in Scotland
1 in 271 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Arabella.
1 in 383 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Arabella.
1 in 280 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Arabella.
Middle names for Arabella
1 in 107 in Northern Ireland
Arabella Charlotte
4-2 beats · initials AC
Changes the beat after Arabella: 4 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 86 in Ireland
Arabella Sophie
4-2 beats · initials AS
Changes the beat after Arabella: 4 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Arabella Grace
4-1 beats · initials AG
Changes the beat after Arabella: 4 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 311 in Ireland
Arabella Maria
4-3 beats · initials AM
Changes the beat after Arabella: 4 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 102 in Ireland
Arabella Mia
4-2 beats · initials AM
Changes the beat after Arabella: 4 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 132 in Northern Ireland
Arabella Ruby
4-2 beats · initials AR
Changes the beat after Arabella: 4 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Arabella Rose
4-1 beats · initials AR
Changes the beat after Arabella: 4 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Arabella Emily
4-3 beats · initials AE · Arabella slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Arabella: 4 syllables, then 3 syllables. Arabella slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Same style as Arabella
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 183 in Scotland
95% alike: moves with Arabella across countries and decades.
1 in 383 in Northern Ireland
94% alike: moves with Arabella across countries and decades.
1 in 542 in Ireland
94% alike: moves with Arabella across countries and decades.
1 in 106 in Scotland
94% alike: moves with Arabella across countries and decades.
1 in 607 in Northern Ireland
93% alike: moves with Arabella across countries and decades.
1 in 160 in Scotland
93% alike: moves with Arabella across countries and decades.
1 in 942 in Scotland
93% alike: moves with Arabella across countries and decades.
1 in 768 in England and Wales
93% alike: moves with Arabella across countries and decades.
Famous people named Arabella
Arabella Stanton and Arabella Churchill.
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-
English actress (born 2014)
-
Mistress of James II of England (1648-1730)
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Arabella
5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
Show all 5 questionsShow less
How popular is Arabella?
Her best rank is No. 22 in England and Wales in 2025, about 1 in 185 girls. She is in the published lists of 9 of our 40 regions.
What does Arabella mean?
Wiktionary glosses Arabella as "possibly yielding to prayer".
How do you pronounce Arabella?
air-uh-BEL-uh, with 4 syllables.
Is Arabella getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 3 of 5 regions, falling in none.
Which sister names go with Arabella?
The deck's top five sisters for Arabella: Aoife, Delilah, Quinn, Saoirse and Esme. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.