girls' name ★ peaked 1915

Belle

Meaning beauty, beautiful Gender Girl Rank 2025 #1,013 Trend ↓ Falling 11%

From French belle (“beauty, beautiful”), from Latin bella.

Rank 2025
#1,013
among girls · ↓8 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
247
named Belle · -3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 6,507
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1915
407 babies
All-time total
19,227
#1,097 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Belle popularity over time

19,227 babies have been named Belle since 1880, 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
0.751.52.25318801900192019401960198020002020Peak 1880Girls

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 2,648 265 – #90
1890s 2,512 251 -5% #127
1900s 2,096 210 -17% #181
1910s 2,901 290 +38% #267
1920s 1,545 155 -47% #436
1930s 538 54 -65% #775
1940s 429 43 -20% #1,102
1950s 398 40 -7% #1,314
1960s 261 26 -34% #1,928
1970s 171 17 -34% #3,037
1980s 112 11 -35% #4,129
1990s 392 39 +250% #2,126
2000s 1,297 130 +231% #1,396
2010s 2,405 241 +85% #806
2020s (to 2025) 1,522 254 +5% #971

Where Belle 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 242 0.15 outside top 500
2027 238 0.15 outside top 500
2028 235 0.15 outside top 500
2029 232 0.14 outside top 500
2030 230 0.14 outside top 500

Where Belle is most popular

Girls named Belle per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.156 per 1,000. Strongest in Utah, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania.

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 Belle 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
Utah 24 0.288 +85%
Minnesota 27 0.250 +60%
Pennsylvania 59 0.250 +60%
New Mexico 6 0.247 +58%
Nevada 11 0.237 +52%
Michigan 43 0.236 +51%
California 184 0.219 +40%
Florida 84 0.196 +26%
Illinois 44 0.192 +23%
Washington 27 0.187 +20%
Tennessee 27 0.170 +9%
Colorado 19 0.170 +9%
New York 67 0.169 +8%
South Carolina 15 0.167 +7%
Indiana 23 0.164 +5%
Ohio 38 0.160 ≈ national
Massachusetts 19 0.157 ≈ national
Arizona 22 0.157 ≈ national
Idaho 5 0.149 ≈ national
Virginia 24 0.141 -10%
Nebraska 5 0.139 -11%
Wisconsin 14 0.136 -13%
Texas 106 0.132 -16%
Louisiana 11 0.126 -20%
Missouri 15 0.124 -20%
New Jersey 21 0.116 -26%
North Carolina 23 0.101 -35%
Georgia 22 0.097 -38%
Arkansas 5 0.095 -39%
Oregon 6 0.092 -41%
Oklahoma 5 0.068 -56%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
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 Belle

Belle is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #1,013 in 2025 with 247 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 19,227 American babies have been named Belle. Its peak came in 1915, when 407 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1910s.

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 Belle stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Belle?

The median living Belle is about 12 years old; half are between 6 and 25. An estimated 6,900 people named Belle are alive in the United States today.

median 12 020406080100

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

Belle year by year

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

Year Girls Girls rank
2025 247 #1,013
2024 255 #1,005
2023 250 #1,012
2022 274 #971
2021 241 #1,046
2020 255 #1,000
2019 307 #874
2018 312 #870
2017 339 #806
2016 293 #936
2015 251 #1,050
2014 251 #1,033
2013 190 #1,255
2012 163 #1,408
2011 144 #1,527
2010 155 #1,457
2009 136 #1,642
2008 170 #1,396
2007 144 #1,570
2006 146 #1,506
2005 152 #1,406
2004 147 #1,415
2003 107 #1,757
2002 113 #1,633
2001 108 #1,672
2000 74 #2,159
1995 35 #3,227
1990 13 #6,503
1985 9 #7,018
1980 11 #5,945
1975 15 #4,161
1970 22 #3,037
1965 24 #2,471
1960 35 #1,928
1955 30 #1,941
1950 39 #1,476
1945 40 #1,262
1940 32 #1,315
1935 47 #1,005
1930 82 #775
1925 140 #619
1920 235 #436
1915 407 #288
1910 193 #281
1905 205 #216
1900 291 #181
1895 283 #155
1890 304 #127
1885 255 #108
1880 238 #90

Famous people named Belle

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

  1. 1 Belle Starr Belle Starr American outlaw (1848–1889) 19th century
  2. 2 Belle Gunness Belle Gunness Norwegian-American serial killer 1859–1908 · 19th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Belle?

The median living Belle is about 12 years old. Half of all living Belles are between 6 and 25 years old.

How many people named Belle are alive today?

An estimated 6,900 people named Belle are alive in the United States, based on 19,227 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Belle mean?

From French belle (“beauty, beautiful”), from Latin bella.

How popular is the name Belle in 2025?

Belle ranked #1,013 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 247 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Belle?

19,227 babies have been named Belle in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Belle most popular?

Belle peaked in 1915, when 407 newborns received the name.

Is Belle a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Belle rising or falling?

Belle is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Belle become more popular?

Belle is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 230 girls named Belle in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Belle?

Well-known people named Belle include Belle Starr (mafioso), Belle Gunness (extremist).

Names like Belle

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

Compare Belle with similar names → More names starting with B →