How popular is the baby name Isabella in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Isabella.

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Popularity of the baby name Isabella


Posts that mention the name Isabella

Popular and unique baby names in Iowa, 2022

Flag of Iowa
Flag of Iowa

Did you know that Iowa is the only U.S. state bordered by two navigable rivers (i.e., rivers used for interstate commerce)? Its eastern border is formed by the Mississippi River, and its western border is formed by the Missouri River (for the most part).

Last year, the state’s most popular baby names were Olivia and Oliver, according to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services

Here are Iowa’s top 20 girl names and top 20+ boy names of 2022:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 173 baby girls
  2. Charlotte, 155
  3. Ava, 130
  4. Emma, 122
  5. Amelia, 118
  6. Evelyn, 114
  7. Harper, 109
  8. Eleanor, 105
  9. Hazel, 94
  10. Nora, 93
  11. Scarlett, 91
  12. Ellie, 89
  13. Sophia, 85
  14. Avery, 84
  15. Ivy, 83
  16. Violet, 82
  17. Isabella, 78
  18. Grace, 74 (tie)
  19. Willow, 74 (tie)
  20. Aurora, 67

Boy Names

  1. Oliver, 198 baby boys
  2. Liam, 180
  3. Theodore, 163
  4. Henry, 156
  5. William, 127
  6. Leo, 122
  7. Hudson, 121
  8. Jack, 119 (tie)
  9. Owen, 119 (tie)
  10. James, 118
  11. Brooks, 115
  12. Asher, 112
  13. Wyatt, 108
  14. Elijah, 107
  15. Maverick, 101
  16. Noah, 98
  17. Bennett, 90 (tie)
  18. Cooper, 90 (tie)
  19. Jackson, 88
  20. Lincoln, 87 (tie)
  21. Lucas, 87 (tie)

The SSA’s rankings for Iowa are largely (though not exactly) the same.

Now for the fun part — unique names!

In total, 3,680 (67%) of the girl names and 2,801 (58%) of the boy names bestowed in Iowa last year were given to a single baby. Here’s a selection of Iowa’s unique baby names of 2022:

Unique girl namesUnique boy names
Alini, Brillith, Clovianna, Demri, Eleen, Fienne, Giantra, Hinata, Idara, Jimmilah, Ketsia, Lithena, Meridia, Nashley, Prinsha, Quinlyn, Rencalina, Simrat, Tauren, Uniti, Velzy, Weaver, Xella, Yusali, ZevlynAckley, Berrick, Clandson, Dazin, Eitan, Faron, Grayler, Hemby, Indie, Jefrin, Kindness, Lijah, Maiti, Noriel, Olten, Percy, Quineal, Raul, Solanus, Trendale, Ukiyo, Vaylor, Westlan, Xanthos, Yannick, Zario

Some of the single-use noun-names I spotted were Fjord (boy), Badger (boy), Minnow (girl), Sparrow (girl), Lithium (boy), and Paprika (girl).

I also noticed the name Caladan (boy), which was likely inspired by the planet Caladan from the movie Dune: Part One, which was released in late 2021.

Speaking of 2021…here’s a link to Iowa’s 2021 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: Baby Names – Iowa Health & Human Services, Iowa – Wikipedia, Iowa’s Waterway System – Iowa DOT

Image: Adapted from Flag of Iowa (public domain)

Babies born to Diego Maradona fan, named Mara, Dona, Diego

Argentine soccer player Diego Armando Maradona (1960-2020)
Diego Maradona

In July of 2011, Argentinian sportswriter Walter Rotundo and his partner Victoria welcomed twin baby girls.

Their names? Mara Delfina and Dona Isabella — “Mara” and “Dona” in honor of legendary Argentinian soccer player Diego Maradona. (Rotundo chose the names to commemorate Maradona’s performance in the 1986 World Cup specifically.)

In 2021, the couple became pregnant again. This time they were having a baby boy, and when they realized he might arrive on the first anniversary of Maradona’s death, they went ahead and scheduled a caesarean section for that day.

Their son was born in Buenos Aires on November 25. His name? Diego Amado — “Diego” as a final tribute to Maradona.

Sources:

Image: Diego Maradona

Popular baby names in San Diego (California), 2022 & 2021

Flag of California
Flag of California

The county of San Diego, located in the southwestern corner of the state of California, is the fifth-most-populous county in the United States.

Last year, San Diego County welcomed 37,753 babies — 18,473 girls and 19,278 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Mateo.

Here are San Diego’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2022:

Girl Names, 2022

  1. Olivia, 211 baby girls
  2. Emma, 207
  3. Isabella, 178
  4. Mia, 177
  5. Camila, 165
  6. Sophia, 146
  7. Luna, 138
  8. Mila, 129
  9. Sofia, 119
  10. Charlotte, 115

Boy Names, 2022

  1. Mateo, 234 baby boys
  2. Liam, 232
  3. Noah, 192
  4. Sebastian, 183
  5. Oliver, 164
  6. Benjamin, 143
  7. Luca, 141
  8. Santiago, 139
  9. Alexander, 128
  10. Julian, 121

And, because I didn’t blog about the county’s top names of 2021, here are those top-10 lists as well:

Girl Names, 2021

  1. Emma, 217 baby girls
  2. Olivia, 213
  3. Mia, 164 (tie)
  4. Sophia, 164 (tie)
  5. Camila, 151
  6. Sofia, 144
  7. Isabella, 143
  8. Amelia, 138
  9. Luna, 137
  10. Charlotte, 130

Boy Names, 2021

  1. Noah, 210 baby boys
  2. Liam, 206
  3. Mateo, 180
  4. Oliver, 163
  5. Benjamin, 155
  6. Sebastian, 143
  7. Luca, 124
  8. Alexander, 123 (tie)
  9. James, 123 (tie)
  10. Julian, 121

A year earlier, in 2020, the #1 names in San Diego were Olivia and Noah.

(I’ve also posted 2022 rankings for Sonoma County, also in California, and Coconino County, in nearby Arizona.)

Sources: County Reveals Top 10 Baby Names of 2022 – San Diego County News Center, Top 10 Leading Baby Names in San Diego County, By Gender, 1996-2022 (PDF)

Image: Adapted from Flag of California (public domain)

Which girl names are the most Canadian?

Maligne Lake, Canada

A couple of weeks ago, Rachel asked a great question: “I wonder which names are the most Canadian? That is, which have the greatest popularity differentials between Canada and the US?”

In this post and the next, we’ll try to come up with lists of both the “most Canadian” and the “most American” baby names using two different methods.

First, we’ll look at the most popular names that appeared in only one set of data (either Canada or the U.S.) in 2022.

Second, we’ll look at the names that appeared in both sets of data, focusing on how proportionally popular each name was in each place. For the girl names below, I calculated the proportions by dividing each name’s U.S. usage by the total number of girls born in the U.S. last year (1,784,437) and each name’s Canadian usage by the total number of girls born Canada last year (170,916).

Top Canada-only girl names

The 2022 Canadian data included 270 girl names that were not in the U.S. data. Below are the 10+ most popular Canada-only girl names.

Number of girls (Can.)Rank (Can.)
1. Flavie184141st
2. Ophelie169153rd
3. Romane114254th
4. Lea-Rose59484th
5. Lauralie57493rd
6. Sifat47582nd
7. Morgane42649th
8. Louane41666th
9. Leane37725th
10. Megane36 (tie)740th (tie)
11. Oceanne36 (tie)740th (tie)

Most of these are French, of course, and the usage was primarily in Quebec:

  • Flavie: 182 of 184 born in Quebec
  • Ophelie: 163 of 169
  • Romane: 114 of 114 (all)
  • Lea-Rose: 54 of 59
  • Lauralie: 55 of 57
  • Morgane: 41 of 42
  • Louane: 41 of 41 (all)
  • Leane: 35 of 37
  • Megane: 35 of 36
  • Oceanne: 31 of 36

The name Sifat, on the other hand, was not used in Quebec at all.

Girl names particularly popular in Canada

Now let’s look at the more than 3,340 girl names that appeared in both sets of data. Of the girl names used more frequently in Canada than in the U.S., the 10 below had the largest pro-Canada differentials. (I added the rankings for both countries as well.)

Differential (Pro-Can.)Rank (Can.)Rank (U.S.)
1. Florence0.2994%35th622nd
2. Charlie0.2794%18th123rd
3. Alice0.2638%11th64th
4. Chloe0.2573%6th18th
5. Livia0.2446%44th890th
6. Lea0.2338%49th785th
7. Sophie0.2198%16th63rd
8. Clara0.2192%24th110th
9. Rose0.2153%28th120th
10. Romy0.1981%67th1,355th

Top U.S.-only girl names

The 2022 U.S. data included 14,319 girl names that were not in the Canadian data. Below are the 10 most popular U.S.-only girl names.

Number of girls (U.S.)Rank (U.S.)
1. Malani789395th
2. Daleyza745423rd
3. Emely701 446th
4. Fernanda688458th
5. Yaretzi641489th
6. Jimena636493rd
7. Alondra615 509th
8. Anahi533565th
9. Jayleen488607th
10. Melany473623rd

Similar to the way the Canada-only list featured names used by French speakers, this U.S.-only list includes quite a few names used by Spanish speakers.

Girl names particularly popular in the U.S.

Now back to the names that both countries had in common. Of the girl names used more frequently in the U.S. than in Canada, the 10 below had the largest pro-U.S. differentials. (And, again, I added the rankings.)

Differential (Pro-U.S.)Rank (U.S.)Rank (Can.)
1. Camila0.3533%12th163rd
2. Isabella0.2697%6th22nd
3. Gianna0.2151%22nd97th
4. Leilani0.1915%59th684th
5. Genesis0.1763%65th937th
6. Luna0.1636%10th31st
7. Caroline0.1385%77th529th
8. Nova0.1315%32nd71st
9. Harper0.1314%11th34th
10. Serenity0.1239%96th513th

Of course, this analysis is necessarily a bit lopsided: Canada has fewer people than the U.S. does, and also releases a relatively limited set of baby name data.

Still, it’s fun to see the results. :)

What are your thoughts on the names above?

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Sunrise at Maligne lake 2 by Sergey Pesterev under CC BY-SA 4.0.