Isabela
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Meaning
form of Isabel with a Latin-style ending, ultimately from Hebrew Elisheva, commonly understood as "my God is an oath"
The story
Isabela belongs to the Elizabeth family, although its spelling can make the connection easy to miss. It adds a Latin-style ending to Isabel. That form comes through medieval Occitan, the language historically spoken in southern France, from Elizabeth and ultimately Hebrew Elisheva, commonly understood as “my God is an oath.”
The Isabel family spread through Spain, Portugal and France and, according to the name reference Behind the Name, was common among royalty by the twelfth century. A later example is Isabel of Aragon, who became the Portuguese king Dinis’s queen and arrived in Coimbra as a newly married woman in the thirteenth century. Her life places the name within the marriages that crossed Iberian royal borders.
For Isabela with one l, Brazil provides a substantial modern chapter. Its 2022 census counted 358,542 residents with that first name, with a median age of 12. The largest of the completed birth-decade groups was the 2010s, following substantial use in earlier decades. The figures count people living in Brazil at the census. The name was already widely used there before Disney’s Encanto.
The film adds a Colombian visual association. Its fictional Isabela grows plants and flowers while trying to meet her family’s expectation of perfection. The production team drew on Colombian flowers and flower festivals, especially Medellín’s, for her clothing and room.
How popular is Isabela around the world?
In the United States, 2,496 babies were named Isabela between 2020 and 2025. At the 2022 census, 358,542 people in Brazil were named Isabela, the 77th most common name, with a median age of 12.
Isabela is on the official records of the United States, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Mexico City, Argentina, Chile, Montevideo, Ireland, Canada, South Australia, Spain, England and Wales, Austria and Poland.
Isabela crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of a Spanish-speaking record and of Brazil’s 2022 census, which counts people of every age. The full list: Spanish and Portuguese
United States
1 in 8,700
In the United States, 2,496 babies were named Isabela between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Isabela peaked in the 2000s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Brazil
1 in 570
At the 2022 census, 358,542 people in Brazil were named Isabela, the 77th most common name, with a median age of 12.
Among people named Isabela living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 46,382 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Puerto Rico
1 in 1,300
In Puerto Rico, 14 babies were named Isabela in 2025, and 165 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Mexico City City
1 in 1,400
In Mexico City, there were 87 registrations of Isabela in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (1 registration through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Argentina
1 in 2,000
In Argentina, 338 newborns were given the name Isabela in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Chile
1 in 4,600
In Chile, 39 girls were registered as Isabela in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Montevideo City
1 in 6,2002011
In Montevideo, 4 girls named Isabela were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Ireland
1 in 7,700
In Ireland, 7 girls named Isabela were born in 2025, the 483rd most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Canada
1 in 12,000
In Canada, 30 girls named Isabela were born in 2024, the 913th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 girl was registered as Isabela in 2017.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Spain
1 in 19,000
In Spain, 2,393 residents are named Isabela, the 816th most common name among women, with a mean age of 17.4 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
England and Wales
1 in 22,000
In England and Wales, 27 girls named Isabela were born in 2025, ranked 1,197th among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Austria
1 in 38,000
In Austria, 2 girls named Isabela were born in 2025, ranked 1,305th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Poland
1 in 120,000
In Poland, 2 girls named Isabela were born in 2025, the 706th most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Not on the record in New Zealand and Scotland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Isabela
Most people given the name Isabela in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Isabela travels
Italian Brazilian · A form of Isabel with a Latin-style ending, written with a single l in Brazil.
Portuguese · God is my oath
Keep exploring
Italian Brazilian baby names · Portuguese and Brazilian baby names · Filipino baby names
The Isabela deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Isabela truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Isabela fits with your family’s names and surname.
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