girls' name ★ peaked 2014

Arabella

Meaning yielding to prayer Gender Girl Rank 2025 #213 Trend → Stable

Uncertain, used in Scotland since the sixteenth century; possibly from Latin orabilis (“yielding to prayer”) or a variant of Annabel.

Rank 2025
#213
among girls · ↓7 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,423
named Arabella · -4% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,129
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2014
1,914 babies
All-time total
27,957
#871 all-time among girls
First recorded
1881
in Social Security records

Arabella popularity over time

27,957 babies have been named Arabella since 1881, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.380.751.131.518801900192019401960198020002020Peak 2017Girls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Per year Change Best rank
1880s 48 5 – #659
1890s 62 6 +29% #959
1900s 85 9 +37% #1,089
1910s 167 17 +96% #1,245
1920s 166 17 -1% #1,820
1930s 95 10 -43% #2,312
1940s 62 6 -35% #3,458
1950s 72 7 +16% #3,377
1960s 69 7 -4% #4,061
1970s 52 5 -25% #5,127
1980s 45 5 -13% #6,357
1990s 305 31 +578% #2,124
2000s 3,108 311 +919% #448
2010s 15,120 1,512 +386% #156
2020s (to 2025) 8,501 1,417 -6% #195

Where Arabella is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 1,405 0.87 #218
2027 1,389 0.86 #221
2028 1,376 0.86 #222
2029 1,365 0.85 #225
2030 1,356 0.84 #226

Where Arabella is most popular

Girls named Arabella per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.870 per 1,000. Strongest in West Virginia, Hawaii, and New Mexico.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Arabella born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
West Virginia 75 2.86 +229%
Hawaii 29 2.53 +191%
New Mexico 56 2.30 +165%
Nevada 96 2.07 +137%
Maine 29 1.87 +115%
Kentucky 134 1.57 +80%
Arkansas 82 1.55 +78%
Arizona 204 1.45 +67%
Kansas 81 1.40 +61%
Vermont 6 1.24 +42%
Louisiana 106 1.21 +39%
Oklahoma 89 1.21 +39%
Texas 967 1.20 +38%
Oregon 78 1.20 +38%
Colorado 130 1.16 +34%
South Carolina 104 1.16 +33%
Indiana 162 1.15 +33%
Florida 493 1.15 +32%
Pennsylvania 269 1.14 +31%
Iowa 65 1.11 +28%
Ohio 262 1.10 +27%
Missouri 133 1.10 +27%
Virginia 186 1.09 +25%
California 917 1.09 +25%
Alabama 101 1.08 +24%
Tennessee 165 1.04 +20%
North Carolina 233 1.02 +18%
Idaho 33 0.986 +13%
Wisconsin 100 0.971 +12%
Washington 138 0.955 +10%
Michigan 173 0.950 +9%
Mississippi 44 0.941 +8%
Nebraska 32 0.890 ≈ national
Delaware 10 0.882 ≈ national
Rhode Island 11 0.879 ≈ national
Georgia 194 0.854 ≈ national
Connecticut 49 0.842 ≈ national
New York 317 0.800 -8%
Illinois 180 0.786 -10%
New Jersey 139 0.770 -12%
Maryland 75 0.708 -19%
New Hampshire 12 0.650 -25%
Minnesota 67 0.621 -29%
Montana 8 0.591 -32%
Alaska 5 0.581 -33%
Utah 45 0.541 -38%
Massachusetts 63 0.521 -40%
North Dakota 6 0.456 -48%
District of Columbia – – –
South Dakota – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Arabella

Arabella is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #213 in 2025 with 1,423 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1881, 27,957 American babies have been named Arabella. Its peak came in 2014, when 1,914 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Arabella stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Arabella?

The median living Arabella is about 9 years old; half are between 4 and 12. An estimated 27 thousand people named Arabella are alive in the United States today.

median 9 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Arabella year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank
2025 1,423 #213
2024 1,482 #206
2023 1,322 #225
2022 1,314 #231
2021 1,521 #195
2020 1,439 #202
2019 1,545 #194
2018 1,706 #172
2017 1,890 #156
2016 1,748 #187
2015 1,689 #194
2014 1,914 #174
2013 1,533 #209
2012 1,315 #244
2011 946 #333
2010 834 #383
2009 705 #448
2008 467 #656
2007 457 #649
2006 447 #643
2005 326 #796
2004 215 #1,075
2003 166 #1,259
2002 138 #1,395
2001 96 #1,834
2000 91 #1,871
1995 33 #3,361
1990 12 #6,900
1985 10 #6,489
1980 – –
1975 – –
1970 5 #8,049
1965 7 #5,311
1960 6 #5,738
1955 8 #4,387
1950 6 #4,760
1945 – –
1940 6 #3,883
1935 10 #2,741
1930 8 #3,360
1925 16 #2,287
1920 22 #1,820
1915 21 #1,623
1910 11 #1,424
1905 9 #1,306
1900 7 #1,577
1895 10 #1,056
1890 – –
1885 11 #659
1880 – –

Famous people named Arabella

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Arabella Churchill Arabella Churchill Mistress of James II of England and VII of Scotland 1648–1730 · 17th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Arabella, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Arabella?

The median living Arabella is about 9 years old. Half of all living Arabellas are between 4 and 12 years old.

How many people named Arabella are alive today?

An estimated 27 thousand people named Arabella are alive in the United States, based on 27,957 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Arabella mean?

Uncertain, used in Scotland since the sixteenth century; possibly from Latin orabilis (“yielding to prayer”) or a variant of Annabel.

How popular is the name Arabella in 2025?

Arabella ranked #213 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,423 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Arabella?

27,957 babies have been named Arabella in the United States since 1881, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Arabella most popular?

Arabella peaked in 2014, when 1,914 newborns received the name.

Is Arabella a boy or girl name?

Arabella is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Arabella rising or falling?

Arabella has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Arabella become more popular?

Arabella looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 1,356 girls named Arabella in 2030, ranking around #226. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Arabella?

Well-known people named Arabella include Arabella Churchill (politician).

Names like Arabella

Names that sound and feel close to Arabella: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Arabella with similar names → More names starting with A →