Isabel — #167 US girls' name
130,387 babies named Isabel in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 2006. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
More common than 99.1% of names given to girls today.
28% of everyone ever named Isabel was born in this single decade.
4,009 babies were named Isabel in 2006 — its busiest year on record.
What the Data Says About Isabel
The Social Security Administration has registered 130,387 babies named Isabel between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Isabel currently holds the #167 rank among girls for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 2006, when 4,009 babies received it in a single year.
Decade-level aggregation shows that Isabel performed strongest in the 2000s, accumulating 36,038 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Isabel shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 24,598 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Texas and New York. In total, SSA state-level files list Isabel in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.
No etymological entry is currently available for Isabel in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 130,387 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.
Isabel at a glance
Top 1,000 girls' namePeak year
Current rank
Active since
Isabel popularity over time — girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (2006)
- 4,009
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently ranks #167 among girls.
130,387 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 2006 with 4,009 births in a single year.
Isabel popularity over time — boys
1,827 total births recorded since 1904 (Isabel as boys' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The boys' variant of Isabel accounts for 1% of total recorded use across both genders.
Isabel by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 2000s
- 36,038 births that decade — 28% of Isabel's all-time total
Isabel decade highlights
- Peak decade 36,038 births
- Runner-up 22,584 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
2000s was Isabel's strongest decade
36,038 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 28% of all-time use.
Isabel by state
Where Isabel concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 24,598 | 18.9% |
| #2 | Texas | | 17,537 | 13.4% |
| #3 | New York | | 9,886 | 7.6% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 5,793 | 4.4% |
| #5 | Florida | | 4,969 | 3.8% |
| #6 | Pennsylvania | | 4,921 | 3.8% |
| #7 | Arizona | | 3,502 | 2.7% |
| #8 | Massachusetts | | 3,500 | 2.7% |
24,598 of 130,387 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- California 18.9% of nationwide
- Texas 13.4% of nationwide
- New York 7.6% of nationwide
- Illinois 4.4% of nationwide
- Florida 3.8% of nationwide
Recorded in 51 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
California accounts for 18.9% of all recorded births nationwide — a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Isabel appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Keep exploring Isabel
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Data Sources
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.