Belle

Belle: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “beautiful”
Origin: French
Say it: BEL · 1 syllable
Used for: Girls

Belle is a French word name meaning “beautiful.” It is also used as a short form of names ending in -belle or -bella, such as Annabelle and Isabelle.

French names English names Names meaning beauty Classic names Short names International names

How popular is Belle?

202476.0 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Belle in 2024254

2024 rank#1,004 girls

Peak year1883

Total US babies since 188018,976

Belle is rising: use over the last five years is 1.5× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Belle

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Charlottefree man · French
Eleanormeaning uncertain · French
Eloisehealthy; wide · French
Claireclear, bright · French
Nataliebirthday of the Lord · French
Madelineof Magdala · French
Carolinefree woman · French
Allisonnoble kind · French

Belle questions

What does the name Belle mean?

Belle means "beautiful". It comes from French. Belle is a French word name meaning “beautiful.” It is also used as a short form of names ending in -belle or -bella, such as Annabelle and Isabelle.

Is Belle a boy or girl name?

Belle is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Belle?

254 US babies were named Belle in 2024. Its peak year was 1883.

How do you pronounce Belle?

Belle is usually pronounced BEL.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.