Arabella
Arabella was given to 1,423 girls in 2025, #213 among girls’ names; 27,957 Americans have been recorded with it since 1881 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 27,100 Americans named Arabella and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (97% of everyone recorded); the median is 9 years old and half are between 5 and 13.
Arabella came back: it left the girls’ top 1,000 after 1893 and returned in 2005.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Arabella by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Arabella mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Arabella is “a female given name from Latin.” Its etymology gives the sense “yielding to prayer” (orabilis).
Uncertain, used in Scotland since the sixteenth century; possibly from Latin orabilis (“yielding to prayer”) or a variant of Annabel.
/æɹəˈbɛlə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Arabella?
#213 among girls’ names, 2025
Arabella fell from #194 in 2015 to #213 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.95 to 0.89 per 1,000.
1,914 babies in 2014, the peak
Arabella peaked in 2014, when 1,914 girls were given it, #174 among girls’ names. The 1,423 births of 2025 are 74% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,423 | #213 | 0.89 |
| 2024 | 1,482 | #206 | 0.91 |
| 2023 | 1,322 | #225 | 0.82 |
| 2022 | 1,314 | #231 | 0.80 |
| 2021 | 1,521 | #195 | 0.93 |
| 2020 | 1,439 | #202 | 0.89 |
| 2019 | 1,545 | #194 | 0.92 |
| 2018 | 1,706 | #172 | 1.0 |
| 2017 | 1,890 | #156 | 1.1 |
| 2016 | 1,748 | #187 | 1.0 |
Every recorded year (131)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,689 | #194 | 0.95 |
| 2014 | 1,914 | #174 | 1.1 |
| 2013 | 1,533 | #209 | 0.87 |
| 2012 | 1,315 | #244 | 0.75 |
| 2011 | 946 | #333 | 0.54 |
| 2010 | 834 | #383 | 0.47 |
| 2009 | 705 | #448 | 0.38 |
| 2008 | 467 | #656 | 0.25 |
| 2007 | 457 | #649 | 0.24 |
| 2006 | 447 | #643 | 0.24 |
| 2005 | 326 | #796 | 0.18 |
| 2004 | 215 | #1,075 | 0.12 |
| 2003 | 166 | #1,258 | 0.09 |
| 2002 | 138 | #1,394 | 0.08 |
| 2001 | 96 | #1,830 | 0.05 |
| 2000 | 91 | #1,867 | 0.05 |
| 1999 | 58 | #2,470 | 0.03 |
| 1998 | 68 | #2,121 | 0.04 |
| 1997 | 42 | #2,876 | 0.02 |
| 1996 | 25 | #4,189 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 33 | #3,356 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 20 | #4,853 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 21 | #4,677 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 16 | #5,736 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 10 | #8,019 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 12 | #6,894 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 6 | #10,451 | under 0.01 |
| 1986 | 6 | #9,622 | under 0.01 |
| 1985 | 10 | #6,487 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 7 | #8,101 | under 0.01 |
| 1982 | 6 | #9,297 | under 0.01 |
| 1981 | 10 | #6,355 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 9 | #6,723 | 0.01 |
| 1978 | 6 | #8,620 | under 0.01 |
| 1977 | 7 | #7,603 | under 0.01 |
| 1976 | 6 | #8,213 | under 0.01 |
| 1972 | 10 | #5,126 | 0.01 |
| 1971 | 9 | #5,570 | 0.01 |
| 1970 | 5 | #8,048 | under 0.01 |
| 1969 | 6 | #6,661 | under 0.01 |
| 1968 | 7 | #5,667 | under 0.01 |
| 1967 | 11 | #4,060 | 0.01 |
| 1966 | 8 | #4,887 | under 0.01 |
| 1965 | 7 | #5,310 | under 0.01 |
| 1964 | 6 | #6,042 | under 0.01 |
| 1963 | 7 | #5,318 | under 0.01 |
| 1962 | 5 | #6,615 | under 0.01 |
| 1961 | 6 | #5,873 | under 0.01 |
| 1960 | 6 | #5,737 | under 0.01 |
| 1958 | 7 | #4,921 | under 0.01 |
| 1957 | 8 | #4,551 | under 0.01 |
| 1956 | 7 | #4,853 | under 0.01 |
| 1955 | 8 | #4,386 | under 0.01 |
| 1954 | 8 | #4,291 | under 0.01 |
| 1953 | 11 | #3,489 | 0.01 |
| 1952 | 11 | #3,376 | 0.01 |
| 1951 | 6 | #4,859 | under 0.01 |
| 1950 | 6 | #4,758 | under 0.01 |
| 1949 | 7 | #4,257 | under 0.01 |
| 1948 | 9 | #3,599 | 0.01 |
| 1947 | 8 | #4,017 | under 0.01 |
| 1946 | 6 | #4,444 | under 0.01 |
| 1944 | 5 | #4,603 | under 0.01 |
| 1943 | 7 | #3,817 | 0.01 |
| 1942 | 8 | #3,456 | 0.01 |
| 1941 | 6 | #3,976 | under 0.01 |
| 1940 | 6 | #3,881 | 0.01 |
| 1939 | 9 | #2,932 | 0.01 |
| 1938 | 11 | #2,587 | 0.01 |
| 1937 | 8 | #3,156 | 0.01 |
| 1936 | 12 | #2,390 | 0.01 |
| 1935 | 10 | #2,739 | 0.01 |
| 1934 | 7 | #3,460 | 0.01 |
| 1933 | 9 | #2,881 | 0.01 |
| 1932 | 8 | #3,289 | 0.01 |
| 1931 | 13 | #2,311 | 0.01 |
| 1930 | 8 | #3,358 | 0.01 |
| 1929 | 14 | #2,312 | 0.01 |
| 1928 | 20 | #1,903 | 0.02 |
| 1927 | 10 | #3,064 | 0.01 |
| 1926 | 16 | #2,260 | 0.01 |
| 1925 | 16 | #2,286 | 0.01 |
| 1924 | 17 | #2,216 | 0.01 |
| 1923 | 16 | #2,267 | 0.01 |
| 1922 | 20 | #1,960 | 0.02 |
| 1921 | 15 | #2,380 | 0.01 |
| 1920 | 22 | #1,820 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 22 | #1,749 | 0.02 |
| 1918 | 18 | #2,034 | 0.02 |
| 1917 | 19 | #1,852 | 0.02 |
| 1916 | 14 | #2,256 | 0.01 |
| 1915 | 21 | #1,623 | 0.02 |
| 1914 | 23 | #1,304 | 0.03 |
| 1913 | 16 | #1,469 | 0.03 |
| 1912 | 9 | #1,988 | 0.02 |
| 1911 | 14 | #1,245 | 0.03 |
| 1910 | 11 | #1,424 | 0.03 |
| 1909 | 8 | #1,615 | 0.02 |
| 1908 | 14 | #1,089 | 0.04 |
| 1907 | 7 | #1,648 | 0.02 |
| 1906 | 5 | #1,966 | 0.02 |
| 1905 | 9 | #1,305 | 0.03 |
| 1904 | 11 | #1,093 | 0.04 |
| 1903 | 8 | #1,326 | 0.03 |
| 1902 | 7 | #1,449 | 0.03 |
| 1901 | 9 | #1,141 | 0.04 |
| 1900 | 7 | #1,576 | 0.02 |
| 1899 | 8 | #1,185 | 0.03 |
| 1898 | 7 | #1,381 | 0.03 |
| 1897 | 6 | #1,390 | 0.03 |
| 1895 | 10 | #1,056 | 0.04 |
| 1894 | 9 | #1,064 | 0.04 |
| 1893 | 10 | #959 | 0.05 |
| 1892 | 6 | #1,286 | 0.03 |
| 1891 | 6 | #1,223 | 0.03 |
| 1888 | 12 | #755 | 0.07 |
| 1887 | 7 | #947 | 0.05 |
| 1886 | 6 | #1,000 | 0.04 |
| 1885 | 11 | #659 | 0.08 |
| 1884 | 5 | #1,033 | 0.04 |
| 1881 | 7 | #684 | 0.08 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Arabella a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Arabella has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 131 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Arabella: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Arabella, and how old are they?
27,100 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 97% of the 27,957 Americans ever recorded as Arabella. The median Arabella alive today is 9 years old; half are between 5 and 13.
The 2020 Census counted 16,362 people named Arabella (16,339 women and girls, 23 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 19,091 born in the U.S. The Census count is 14% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 38 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 101 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 84 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 178 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 6,320 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 20,400 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Arabella born?
The states with the most babies named Arabella are Texas, California and Florida, with 35% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 197 | #165 | 1.1× |
| California | 186 | #171 | 0.9× |
| Florida | 107 | #164 | 1.1× |
| New York | 67 | #255 | 0.7× |
| Pennsylvania | 53 | #211 | 1.0× |
| North Carolina | 48 | #223 | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 46 | #243 | 1.1× |
| Georgia | 45 | #233 | 0.7× |
| Arizona | 42 | #151 | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 41 | #257 | 0.7× |
Where Arabella is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Arabella is most over-represented in West Virginia: since 1910 it was given 1.6 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Arabella with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 33,079 babies since 1880, Arabella is the most given (85% of them). In 2025 it was given to 1,423 of their 1,641 babies (87%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Arabella
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Arabella and names like it
- Compare Arabella and ArabelleBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2010sArabella peaked in 2014.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Arabella since 1910.
- Latin namesWiktionary’s origin for Arabella: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2014The year the most babies were named Arabella.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Arabella alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with AMost given first.