Girls' name · since 1880
Isabel
132,150 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.
- #307 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #176 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 132,150
- born since 1880
- 2000s
- peak decade
Yes -- Isabel is the #176 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 132,150 recorded since 1880.
Isabel has 132,150 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #176 as of the latest data, more common than 99% of girls, busiest in the 2000s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #307 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #176 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 132,150 born since 1880
- 2000s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Isabel ranks #307 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #176 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 132,150 born since 1880, peaking in the 2000s.
- #307 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #176 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 132,150
- born since 1880
- 2000s
- peak decade
Isabel's 132,150 recorded births place it above 99.57% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Isabel compares
132,150 Top 2% higher than 98% 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
Isabel's all-time total is 351x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Isabel | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 132,150 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 4,009 | 21 | 19,840 |
Isabel's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Isabel splits its recorded history at 1953: 77% of all births land in the more recent half, 23% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1882 (72 births) -- compare that against the 2006 peak of 4,009 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Isabel popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (2006)
- 4,009
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Isabel popularity over time - boys
1,827 total births recorded since 1904 (Isabel as boys' name)
Isabel by decade
2000s is the heaviest window (36,042 births, 27% of the file).
2000s was Isabel's strongest decade.
36,042 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 27% of all-time use.
Isabel births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 1,053
1880s
1,053 births
- 1890s 2,047
1890s
2,047 births
- 1900s 2,926
1900s
2,926 births
- 1910s 7,668
1910s
7,668 births
- 1920s 8,315
1920s
8,315 births
- 1930s 4,442
1930s
4,442 births
- 1940s 3,435
1940s
3,435 births
- 1950s 4,041
1950s
4,041 births
- 1960s 3,718
1960s
3,718 births
- 1970s 3,940
1970s
3,940 births
- 1980s 4,962
1980s
4,962 births
- 1990s
1990s
16,104 births
- 2000s
2000s
36,042 births
- 2010s
2010s
22,586 births
- 2020s 10,871
2020s
10,871 births
What this shows Peak: 2000s at 36,042 births (27% of all-time use).
How Isabel 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 Isabel's total volume
Isabel by state
Where Isabel concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 24,875 | 18.8% |
| #2 | Texas | | 17,756 | 13.4% |
| #3 | New York | | 10,000 | 7.6% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 5,856 | 4.4% |
| #5 | Florida | | 5,070 | 3.8% |
| #6 | Pennsylvania | | 4,963 | 3.8% |
| #7 | Arizona | | 3,560 | 2.7% |
| #8 | Massachusetts | | 3,552 | 2.7% |
24,875 of 132,150 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Isabel appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Isabel? ▼
Where does Isabel sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Isabel most popular? ▼
Where is Isabel most popular? ▼
How long has the name Isabel been used? ▼
What names are similar to Isabel? ▼
What to do with Isabel's data
- Isabel's decade-level peak was the 2000s (36,042 total births); usage has since declined to 10,871 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Isabels (24,875 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Isabel
Nearby Names Like Isabel
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Isabel
Compare Isabel side by side: Isabel vs Isabella Isabel vs Isabelle Isabel vs Isabell
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Isabel
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Isabel: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2006)
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 Isabel 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.