Fun Facts About the Name Arabella
- More than 27 thousand babies named Arabella: U.S. records list 27,935 babies given the name Arabella from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Arabella Mean?
Arabella is an extended form of the older name Annabel, and its core sense is usually given as "lovable." Annabel comes from the medieval Latin Amabilis, from amabilis ("lovable," from amare, "to love"), which passed into medieval French and English as Amabel and Annabel. A second, long-standing explanation treats Annabel as a blend of Anna with bella, Latin for "beautiful." A third explanation links the -rabella part of Arabella specifically to the Latin orabilis, "yielding to prayer" (from orare, "to pray"). The literal meaning of the source word is "lovable"; the "beautiful" and "yielding to prayer" readings are later interpretations attached to the name's form, and no single derivation is certain.
Arabella Name History & Origins
The name is recorded in Scotland by the sixteenth century, where it was used alongside the related forms Annabel and Arbella. Its best-known early bearer is Arbella Stuart (1575 - 1615), a cousin of King James VI and I, whose name is usually spelled with an initial Ar-. The name was also used in England in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and its ending was later drawn toward the Italianate -bella, so that the name has often been read as containing bella, "beautiful."
Arabella kept a steady literary presence long after its early use: it names Arabella Allen in Charles Dickens's The Pickwick Papers (1836 - 37) and Arabella Donn in Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure (1895). These fictional uses came centuries after the name's documented appearance in Scotland and did not create it. Because Arabella grew out of Annabel, its history belongs to that older name rather than to a separate Latin or Italian source.
How Popular is the Name Arabella?
Arabella recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2014. Its best rank was #157 in 2017.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #213 | 1,423 | 0.0885% |
| 2024 | #206 | 1,476 | 0.0915% |
| 2023 | #227 | 1,317 | 0.0822% |
| 2022 | #231 | 1,313 | 0.0801% |
| 2021 | #195 | 1,519 | 0.0926% |
| 2020 | #202 | 1,438 | 0.0890% |
| 2019 | #194 | 1,545 | 0.0921% |
| 2018 | #172 | 1,705 | 0.1003% |
| 2017 | #157 | 1,889 | 0.1095% |
| 2016 | #187 | 1,747 | 0.0986% |
| 2015 | #194 | 1,688 | 0.0946% |
| 2014 | #174 | 1,912 | 0.1071% |
| 2013 | #209 | 1,533 | 0.0874% |
| 2012 | #244 | 1,315 | 0.0747% |
| 2011 | #333 | 946 | 0.0538% |
| 2010 | #383 | 834 | 0.0469% |
| 2009 | #448 | 705 | 0.0384% |
| 2008 | #656 | 467 | 0.0247% |
| 2007 | #650 | 456 | 0.0237% |
| 2006 | #643 | 447 | 0.0235% |
| 2005 | #796 | 326 | 0.0176% |
| 2004 | #1,075 | 215 | 0.0117% |
| 2003 | #1,258 | 166 | 0.0091% |
| 2002 | #1,395 | 138 | 0.0077% |
| 2001 | #1,833 | 96 | 0.0053% |
| 2000 | #1,871 | 91 | 0.0050% |
| 1999 | #2,473 | 58 | 0.0033% |
| 1998 | #2,124 | 68 | 0.0038% |
| 1997 | #2,879 | 42 | 0.0024% |
| 1996 | #4,194 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 1995 | #3,361 | 33 | 0.0019% |
| 1994 | #4,858 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 1993 | #4,682 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 1992 | #5,742 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1991 | #8,026 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1990 | #6,900 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1988 | #10,456 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1986 | #9,627 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1985 | #6,488 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1983 | #8,103 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1982 | #9,299 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1981 | #6,358 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1979 | #6,724 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1978 | #8,622 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1977 | #7,605 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1976 | #8,216 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1972 | #5,128 | 10 | 0.0007% |
| 1971 | #5,572 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1970 | #8,050 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1969 | #6,665 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1968 | #5,668 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1967 | #4,060 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1966 | #4,888 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1965 | #5,308 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1964 | #6,042 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1963 | #5,321 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1962 | #6,618 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1961 | #5,874 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1960 | #5,737 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1958 | #4,921 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1957 | #4,551 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1956 | #4,854 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1955 | #4,386 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1954 | #4,292 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1953 | #3,490 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1952 | #3,377 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1951 | #4,860 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1950 | #4,760 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1949 | #4,258 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1948 | #3,602 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1947 | #4,019 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1946 | #4,445 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1944 | #4,605 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1943 | #3,818 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1942 | #3,457 | 8 | 0.0006% |
| 1941 | #3,978 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1940 | #3,883 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1939 | #2,934 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1938 | #2,588 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1937 | #3,157 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1936 | #2,391 | 12 | 0.0012% |
| 1935 | #2,741 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1934 | #3,462 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1933 | #2,882 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1932 | #3,291 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1931 | #2,312 | 13 | 0.0012% |
| 1930 | #3,360 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1929 | #2,313 | 14 | 0.0013% |
| 1928 | #1,904 | 20 | 0.0017% |
| 1927 | #3,066 | 10 | 0.0008% |
| 1926 | #2,261 | 16 | 0.0013% |
| 1925 | #2,287 | 16 | 0.0013% |
| 1924 | #2,217 | 17 | 0.0014% |
| 1923 | #2,267 | 16 | 0.0013% |
| 1922 | #1,960 | 20 | 0.0017% |
| 1921 | #2,380 | 15 | 0.0012% |
| 1920 | #1,820 | 22 | 0.0018% |
| 1919 | #1,749 | 22 | 0.0019% |
| 1918 | #2,035 | 18 | 0.0016% |
| 1917 | #1,852 | 19 | 0.0018% |
| 1916 | #2,256 | 14 | 0.0013% |
| 1915 | #1,623 | 21 | 0.0021% |
| 1914 | #1,304 | 23 | 0.0030% |
| 1913 | #1,469 | 16 | 0.0026% |
| 1912 | #1,989 | 9 | 0.0016% |
| 1911 | #1,245 | 14 | 0.0033% |
| 1910 | #1,424 | 11 | 0.0028% |
| 1909 | #1,615 | 8 | 0.0023% |
| 1908 | #1,089 | 14 | 0.0042% |
| 1907 | #1,649 | 7 | 0.0022% |
| 1906 | #1,966 | 5 | 0.0017% |
| 1905 | #1,306 | 9 | 0.0031% |
| 1904 | #1,093 | 11 | 0.0040% |
| 1903 | #1,326 | 8 | 0.0031% |
| 1902 | #1,449 | 7 | 0.0027% |
| 1901 | #1,141 | 9 | 0.0038% |
| 1900 | #1,577 | 7 | 0.0023% |
| 1899 | #1,186 | 8 | 0.0034% |
| 1898 | #1,381 | 7 | 0.0027% |
| 1897 | #1,391 | 6 | 0.0026% |
| 1895 | #1,056 | 10 | 0.0043% |
| 1894 | #1,064 | 9 | 0.0040% |
| 1893 | #959 | 10 | 0.0047% |
| 1892 | #1,286 | 6 | 0.0028% |
| 1891 | #1,223 | 6 | 0.0032% |
| 1888 | #755 | 12 | 0.0067% |
| 1887 | #947 | 7 | 0.0048% |
| 1886 | #1,000 | 6 | 0.0042% |
| 1885 | #659 | 11 | 0.0083% |
| 1884 | #1,033 | 5 | 0.0039% |
| 1881 | #684 | 7 | 0.0076% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Arabella Shapes Your Personality and Life?
Powerful and complete. You are good intellectually and require several outlets for your energies. You are not a builder but a planner, and you want others to carry out your plans. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Arabella's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Arabella's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.