Isabella

Isabella comes from the Hebrew name Elisheba, where ‘el’ meant ‘God’ and ‘sheba’ meant ‘oath’. Thus, the meaning of Isabella is ‘pledged to God’, ‘God is my oath’ or ‘God is perfection’. It is also said that as the name Elizabeth rose to popularity in the Middle Ages, the name took up different variations as it came across the borders of Spain, Italy and France. The name morphed into Isabeth, Isabeau and Isabel and eventually, the names Isabelle and Isabella grew in popularity, becoming a favourite among the royals and the nobility. The element ‘el’ from Isabel can be modified into Bella, meaning ‘beauty’. This name can commonly be found on palace walls in England, Hungary, Portugal and France, as they had all Isabellas in the royal courts. One of the famous royals with this name was the powerful queen, Isabella of Castile, who was said to have financed and supported Christopher Columbus' famous voyage in 1492, when he discovered America. In 2019, Isabella ranked as the 5th most popular name in America.