Isla
Torn between Isla and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
variant of Islay, the Scottish island name; its spelling also matches Spanish isla, "island"
Say it: EYE-la (the s is silent)
The story
Isla is a Scottish variant of Islay, the name of the island off Scotland's west coast. Its spelling happens to match the Spanish word isla, island, but Spanish pronounces that word differently and the resemblance is not the Scottish name's derivation. That small distinction turns a tempting one-word meaning into a more interesting place-name story. Isla spread outward from Scotland and became a major English-speaking favorite in the 2010s and 2020s. The US curve reflects the same recent movement: almost nothing before the 2000s, a sharp climb in the 2010s, and a new high in the 2020s. Isla feels like a nature word to many readers, yet its strongest historical anchor is a particular island and its name, Islay. It is both geographically specific and remarkably portable.
How popular is Isla around the world?
In the United States, 32,205 babies were named Isla between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 110 girls were registered as Isla in 2017.
Isla is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales, New Zealand, New South Wales, Canada, Brazil, Poland, Mexico City, Argentina and Spain.
United States
1 in 680
In the United States, 32,205 babies were named Isla between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Isla peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 1702017
In South Australia, 110 girls were registered as Isla in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
Scotland
1 in 170
In Scotland, 264 girls named Isla were registered in 2024, the 2nd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Ireland
1 in 270
In Ireland, 203 girls named Isla were born in 2025, the 13th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
England and Wales
1 in 300
In England and Wales, 1,959 girls named Isla were born in 2025, the 4th most common name 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
New Zealand
1 in 320
In New Zealand, 179 girls named Isla were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
New South Wales
#4 · 2025
In New South Wales, 317 girls named Isla were registered in 2025, ranked 4th in that year’s top 100 for girls.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Canada
1 in 490
In Canada, 746 girls named Isla were born in 2024, the 13th 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)
Brazil
1 in 43,000
At the 2022 census, 4,575 people in Brazil were named Isla, ranked 2,922nd, with a median age of 18.
Among people named Isla living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2000s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 632 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
Poland
1 in 82,000
In Poland, 3 girls named Isla were born in 2025, the 583rd most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 5 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)
Mexico City City
1 in 120,000
In Mexico City, there was 1 registration of Isla in 2022.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
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, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Argentina
1 in 170,000
In Argentina, 4 newborns were given the name Isla in 2024.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Spain
1 in 300,000
In Spain, 152 residents are named Isla, ranked 5,528th among women, with a mean age of 9.3 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
Austria
last on record 2024
Isla is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 3 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)
Not on the record in Puerto Rico: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. 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 Isla
Most people given the name Isla 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 Isla travels
British and London · island (from the Scottish river Isla / Isle of Islay)
Global crossover · island (from the Scottish river Isla); a top-10 name in Scotland and Australia and one of the fastest-rising names in the US
Keep exploring
Names like Isla · Names that go with Isla · Middle names for Isla · British and London baby names · Global crossover names · Short names · Nickname-proof names
The Isla deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Isla 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 Isla fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Isla fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Isla to your family’s tree →