The baby name Cabela

While out on our road trip last week, we spotted a Cabela’s, which is a store that sells hunting gear, fishing gear, camping gear, and so forth.

I’d never been inside Cabela’s before, so we stopped in to take a look. Also, my husband wanted to buy a tackle box.

Overall, it was an interesting place. I wasn’t keen on all the gun-stuff, but I did like the creative taxidermy displays:

Cabela's Taxidermy Display
Zebra vs. Lion – Cabela’s Taxidermy Display

And, of course, the trip to Cabela’s reminded me that the baby name Cabela has been on the SSA’s baby name list since 2009:

  • 2012: 10 baby girls named Cabela
  • 2011: 8 baby girls named Cabela
  • 2010: 7 baby girls named Cabela
  • 2009: 7 baby girls named Cabela [debut]
  • 2008: unlisted

Variants of Cabela have been on the charts even longer. Here’s Cabella:

  • 2012: 20 baby girls named Cabella
  • 2011: 14 baby girls named Cabella
  • 2010: 13 baby girls named Cabella
  • 2009: 9 baby girls named Cabella
  • 2008: unlisted
  • 2007: 5 baby girls named Cabella
  • 2006: 6 baby girls named Cabella [debut]
  • 2005: unlisted

And here’s Kabella:

  • 2012: 16 baby girls named Kabella
  • 2011: 9 baby girls named Kabella
  • 2010: 9 baby girls named Kabella
  • 2009: 9 baby girls named Kabella
  • 2008: 5 baby girls named Kabella [debut]
  • 2007: unlisted

I’m thinking parents prefer these “extra L” variants because they look more like traditional -bella names, e.g., Isabella, Arabella. (So far, no Kabelas on the list.)

I wonder how many of these parents are hardcore outdoorsmen/outdoorswomen vs. how many are not (but just happen to like the sound of the name).

So where does the name Cabela come from?

A surname. Cabela’s was founded in 1961 by Richard Cabela, his wife Mary, and his brother James. Dick and Jim are the sons of Albin Cabela, who was the son of James Cabela, born in 1869 in Bohemia (immigrated in 1885).

Cabela, therefore, seems to be a Czech surname. I can’t find any information about it, though, so perhaps it’s an altered/Anglicized form of the original family name.

What do you think of the baby name Cabela?

Source: Cabela’s: Company History

12 thoughts on “The baby name Cabela

  1. I know a Cabela. Yes, she was named after the store. Her parents are very, very Southern and outdoorsy, and she comes from a family of avid hunters and fishers. A lot of people laughed about her name at first, but there actually isn’t a single name that could suit her better.

  2. My daughter is named Kabella (Bella) RyAnn….we live in the south and love hunting anf fishing!!! We picked the name as a joke kinda but later fell in love with it, we call her Bella mostly so we dont sound to redneck!! Haha

  3. Thanks Brittany!

    These comments really make me wish I had some regional data on Cabela (& variants). I’d love to know which states they live in.

  4. When picking a name for our daughter we wanted something different so we chose Cabella, and call her Ella for short. We are outdoorsy people also, from Texas! Although it does come from the famous store ‘Cabelas’ it’s not a name you here very often for a person, and to be honest I think it fits our little girl quite well!

  5. Cabela makes me think of Laurent Kabila, former president of D.R. Congo, and Joseph Kabila, his son, current president of D.R. Congo. Kabila is the surname here.

  6. I have a Cabella, we live in Montana and are extremely outdoorsy. We had three boys and then our little girl finally came along. We couldn’t think of a better name for her and whenever we go into a Cabelas store, we have to get a picture with the store manager! We have another baby on the way and we are having a hard time trying to find something that is sorta on the same lines as her name but not Oakley. Any suggestions??

  7. We named our baby girl Cabela in 2012 and we live in Wisconsin. My hubby and I are avid hunter/fishers. The name Cabela fits her perfectly as she loves outdoors and bucks. We call her Bella for short. Love being able to have all kinds of things with her name on it!!

  8. Daughter’s name is Kabela, my husband is really into hunting and fishing and named her after the store. We call her Bella. We live in Northern Wisconsin

  9. I am going to name my first child after my father whom I lost. His name was Caleb. I thought for a while about what if I have a girl. My fiancee is a hunter and one day he said cabela and I got goose bumps. I an secretly hopibg for a girl just so I can name her Cabella Renee. After my parents. Love this name. And funny how my future husband is from the south, I am from the north and never hunted, and he is a hunter. I wonder if a man from the north would have been cool with that name.

  10. So fun to find others that used this name. We have four girls all with C names. Our Cabella was born in 2018 and goes by Bella.

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