Which name, [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] or [name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f], do you prefer? Why?
I prefer [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f]. The nickname [name_u]Gabby[/name_u] sounds trashy to me for some reason and people will call her [name_u]Gabby[/name_u].
Yes I love [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] in all its variant spellings but this spelling is particularly beautiful. I love frilly but classic girls names and this ticks all the boxes. I don’t mind that it is popular it is just such a fantastic name. I like [name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f] a lot for a girl (not at all for a boy) as it is frilly and feminine and pretty and would make a good sister name for [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] if you don’t mind the same endings but my favourite is [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f].
[name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] (though I prefer [name_f]Isobel[/name_f]). [name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f] is too close to [name_m]Gabriel[/name_m] for me; I’m not fond of feminine versions of boys names. Not keen on nn. [name_u]Gabby[/name_u] either.
I say [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] also, but it’s pretty popular right now, whereas [name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f] isn’t. You could try and enforce calling her by her full name if you don’t like [name_u]Gabby[/name_u].
I prefer [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f], but it’s just a personal taste thing-- I probably have a subconscious association with some character named [name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f] in a book or movie I didn’t like. Meanwhile I can think of a few [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f]/[name_f]Izzie[/name_f]'s I did like. Pure random chance, but to me, [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] feels classic and princess-y in a good way, while [name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f] sounds like it might be princess-y in a slightly bratty way.
However, when I actually step back and think about the meanings/history, they are both beautiful names.
Thank you all for your opinions.
I do not like [name_u]Gabby[/name_u] out of all the nicknames for [name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f] either. I much prefer [name_f]Elle[/name_f] and [name_f]Brie[/name_f].
Shujayra, after repeating the names out loud a few times I see where you are coming from with [name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f] seeming a bit bratty and [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] more classic. Not sure bratty is the right word but can not think of a better one.
I was leaning toward [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] before I asked and now more so.
What are your thoughts on Isabelle and Madeleine as sisters? What would you name a sister to Isabelle?
I prefer [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] because aesthetically I like it better.
Names with an i, p and/or s appeal to me. It is just more to my personal taste.
I prefer [name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f], personally. It looks prettier, in my opinion. I don’t mind the nickname [name_u]Gabby[/name_u], but if you do, there are other options, as a previous poster pointed out: [name_f]Elle[/name_f]/[name_f]Ellie[/name_f]/[name_f]Ella[/name_f], [name_f]Brie[/name_f], or even [name_f]Brielle[/name_f]. However, both names are lovely, and if you don’t mind the matchiness, they’d make great sisters!
I really don’t think you have to have [name_u]Gabby[/name_u] if you use [name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f]. I personally prefer it because I think of [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] as too popular for my tastes. If someone tries to call her [name_u]Gabby[/name_u] and she’s been [name_f]Elle[/name_f] all her life, she’ll just correct them and move on, no big deal.
Prefer [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] because it seems fresher. I know some Gabrielles in their 20s… have never met an [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f], but a few little Isabellas.
I know more [name_f]Isabella[/name_f]'s, [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f]'s, [name_f]Isabel[/name_f]'s. It is a beautiful name but I think there will probably be more than one in a class. I know only one [name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f] and she goes by [name_f]Brie[/name_f]. No one calls her [name_u]Gabby[/name_u] but a few people do call her by her full name. I actually like the nickname [name_u]Gabby[/name_u] fine too.
[name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f] is an angel and [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] sounds like babytalk.
Would sisters [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f], [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f], and [name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f] sound too matchy to you? To my ear I hear enough of a difference in [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] and [name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f] I think it works.
I like both, sort of. I prefer the look and sound of [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] to [name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f]. But i greatly prefer [name_f]Isabel[/name_f]/[name_f]Isobel[/name_f] to [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f], which looks much too flowery.
I also know a [name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f], which skews my opinion of the name, because she’s 13 and basically the least annoying/bratty/dramatic child I’ve ever met. She always seems to be getting along with her parents and siblings, seems to do well in school, is smart and nice and respectful, etc. so I’ve come to associate the name [name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f] with all of that, which means that even though i don’t actually like the look/sound of it, i still find myself liking the name.
[name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f] - because I dislike [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] and all its forms.
[name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f]. I think its prettier and the [name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f] I know doesn’t use [name_u]Gabby[/name_u] so I don’t think that’s an issue (though I don’t actually mind [name_u]Gabby[/name_u] as a nn!). I’ve never been a fan of the more popular [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] (though I don’t mind the [name_f]Isobel[/name_f] spelling), I much prefer [name_f]Imogen[/name_f].
[name_f]Isabelle[/name_f], I don’t like Grabrielle too much.
[name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f]. I like [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] in a vacuum, but with all the little Isabellas/Bellas/Belles running around, I feel like [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] would inevitably get lost. Plus [name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f] is just a knock-down gorgeous name. I wouldn’t call it bratty at all - I think it sounds sophisticated, elegant. And the meaning - God is my strength - gives it a nice gravitas. (And…strength!) I’m sure some people would call her [name_u]Gabby[/name_u] - it’s obviously the go-to nickname - but I don’t think it would be everyone, all the time unless she wanted that. I met a young [name_f]Natalie[/name_f] the other day, about 12 years old, and I was surprised that not a single one of her friends with her called her [name_u]Nat[/name_u]; I spent several hours with them, and she was always [name_f]Natalie[/name_f]. Same with the other girls: they all had names with obvious short forms, but none went by a nickname. So you just never know.
Well, see my signature and you’ll now what I choose. 
I adore [name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f], but I love [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f]. I always want to avoid popular names, but until now I make an exception for [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] because I have been loving it for like fifteen years. I love [name_f]Belle[/name_f] names, the meaning and the disney association. To me, [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] is beautiful, elegant, classic, princess-y, light, soft, sweet, and on and on.
I love many naming style, but if I end up naming my (future) daughter [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f], her sister will be [name_f]Juliette[/name_f].
[name_f]Isabelle[/name_f], [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f], and [name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f]? I do think it’s not the best idea to pair [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] and [name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f]. The sound is all okay, but written? Not so much.