Girls' name · since 1880
Belle
19,227 babies named Belle in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1915. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #1,097 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,013 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 19,227
- born since 1880
- 1910s
- peak decade
Yes -- Belle is the #1013 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 19,227 recorded since 1880.
Social Security Administration records show Belle recorded 19,227 times among girls since 1880, holding rank #1013 nationally today, ahead of 94% of girls, peaking in the 1910s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #1,097 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,013 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 19,227 born since 1880
- 1910s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Belle ranks #1,097 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,013 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 19,227 born since 1880, peaking in the 1910s.
- #1,097 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,013 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 19,227
- born since 1880
- 1910s
- peak decade
Belle's 19,227 recorded births place it above 98.48% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
40 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.
How Belle compares
19,227 Top 7% higher than 93% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Belle's all-time total is 51x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Belle | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 19,227 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 407 | 21 | 19,840 |
Belle's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Belle's full recorded timeline at 1953, 33% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 67% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 1986, with just 6 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1915 peak of 407 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Belle popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1915)
- 407
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Belle by decade
1910s is the heaviest window (2,901 births, 15% of the file).
1910s was Belle's strongest decade.
2,901 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 15% of all-time use.
Belle births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s
1880s
2,648 births
- 1890s
1890s
2,512 births
- 1900s
1900s
2,096 births
- 1910s
1910s
2,901 births
- 1920s
1920s
1,545 births
- 1930s 538
1930s
538 births
- 1940s 429
1940s
429 births
- 1950s 398
1950s
398 births
- 1960s 261
1960s
261 births
- 1970s 171
1970s
171 births
- 1980s 112
1980s
112 births
- 1990s 392
1990s
392 births
- 2000s
2000s
1,297 births
- 2010s
2010s
2,405 births
- 2020s
2020s
1,522 births
What this shows Peak: 1910s at 2,901 births (15% of all-time use).
How Belle compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Belle's total volume
Belle by state
Where Belle concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 1,441 | 7.5% |
| #2 | California | | 972 | 5.1% |
| #3 | Texas | | 586 | 3.0% |
| #4 | Pennsylvania | | 481 | 2.5% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 351 | 1.8% |
| #6 | Florida | | 306 | 1.6% |
| #7 | North Carolina | | 304 | 1.6% |
| #8 | Georgia | | 294 | 1.5% |
1,441 of 19,227 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 40 reporting states.
Belle appears in 40 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Belle? ▼
Where does Belle sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Belle most popular? ▼
Where is Belle most popular? ▼
How long has the name Belle been used? ▼
What names are similar to Belle? ▼
What to do with Belle's data
- Belle's usage has stayed within range of its 1910s decade-level peak (2,901 total births) through the 2020s (1,522) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- New York records the most Belles (1,441 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Belle
Nearby Names Like Belle
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Belle
Compare Belle side by side: Belle vs Bella Belle vs Belinda Belle vs Belen
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Belle
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Belle: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1915)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Belle draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.