Isabella

Isabella meaning

Isabella is an international and Christian girl's name of Hebrew origin (via Spanish and Italian).

Form of Elizabeth: Hebrew Elisheba, 'God of (the) oath'

Also used to mean: pledged to God, God is my oath

Isabella is the Italian and Latin form of Isabel, which began in medieval Spain and southern France as a local form of Elizabeth. Elizabeth goes back to the Hebrew Elisheba, the wife of Aaron, whose name Strong's concordance explains as "God of the oath", from ʾel, "God", and a verb meaning to swear; the Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon gives "God is an oath". Name lists give "pledged to God". Its most famous bearer is Queen Isabella I of Castile, who with Ferdinand of Aragon united Spain and sponsored Columbus's voyage of 1492. Bella, Izzy and Isa are short forms.

Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary, H472 · entry Eliysheba (אֱלִישֶׁבַע) · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026

References: Strong's H472, Elisheba (biblehub.com) · Wikipedia, Isabella I of Castile

Famous namesakes

• Isabella I of Castile, queen of Spain

Popularity abroad

• #7 United States, girls 2025 (same as 2024)
  US Social Security Administration
• #10 England and Wales, girls 2025
  Office for National Statistics

Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.

Spellings

Isabella · Isabelle · Isabel · Izabella

Related names

Also meaning god

Also starting with Isa-

More names of Hebrew origin

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