We recently found out that we are expecting a girl. We had discussed the name [name]Isabella[/name] when we were dating around 2005 and I loved it. My family is Italian, but my husband is not (so the last name is a trade name, like Carpenter or Skinner or [name]Miller[/name]) so [name]Isabella[/name] seemed not too ethnic sounding while still feeling like a nod to my heritage. My dad used to call my sister and I “[name]Bella[/name]” as an endearment. Also, I love vowel names.
Fast forward to 2012 and we’re finally having our little girl, but thanks to that ridiculous Twilight the Bellas are out in droves. I don’t want her to be [name]Isabella[/name] M. in a class of 8 of them. But I’m having a hard time giving up the name. We have also yet to come to an agreement on another one.
The short list now:
[name]Nora[/name] (for my grandmother)
[name]Scarlett[/name]
[name]Anika[/name]
[name]Olivia[/name] (also super popular)
[name]Adelaide[/name]
[name]Vivienne[/name]
[name]Coraline[/name]
I like them, but I’m just not excited and I feel like I want to love her name… Who knows if we’ll have another girl…
Any advice, thoughts on our list etc is much appreciated. We have 17 weeks to figure it out!
What about all the different variations to [name]Isabella[/name] - or changing a letter? [name]Izabella[/name], or dropping the a? I agree with the over usage of it though!
If the popularity bothers you (and I can understand that, I would feel the same way), I like the idea of using another “bella” ending name as nod to your childhood term of endearment & it will still give you that vowel ending you like. [name]Annabella[/name]? [name]Mirabella[/name]?
[name]Isabella[/name] is a beautiful name and while it’s trendy in its way by being popular, it will stand the test of time. You could try a less common nn, like [name]Izzy[/name] or [name]Ibby[/name] or [name]Sabel[/name] or jsut [name]Bell[/name], even [name]Libby[/name] you could probably do (all forms of [name]Elizabeth[/name]).
I wouldn’t swap it for [name]Olivia[/name] if [name]Isabella[/name] is the name you love more - they are equally popular, basically. Unless you truly love [name]Olivia[/name] more, it’s a lovely name but [name]Isabella[/name] would be the happier pick for you.
Speaking of forms of [name]Elizabeth[/name], is [name]Elisabetta[/name] too exotic? Tied to the history of [name]Isabella[/name], relatable, lots of nn’s - [name]Elle[/name], [name]Ellie[/name], [name]Lisa[/name], [name]Bett[/name], [name]Betta[/name], [name]Betty[/name], Lis, Lissy, [name]Elisa[/name], etc.
Other [name]Bella[/name] names: [name]Annabella[/name], [name]Bellamy[/name]
Other names that feel Italian to me but aren’t [name]Isabella[/name]
Have you considered [name]Arabella[/name]? That’s the first thing that came to mind. I love it much more than [name]Isabella[/name] and the name still starts with a vowel with nn possibilities of [name]Ari[/name], [name]Ara[/name], and [name]Bella[/name]. I think it’s a nice compromise.
From your list, I like [name]Scarlett[/name], [name]Olivia[/name],& [name]Adelaide[/name]!
Some suggestions:
If you like [name]Coraline[/name], how about [name]Coralie[/name]?
If you like [name]Adelaide[/name], how about [name]Adeline[/name]?
It really is too bad that your favorite name became so popular! It is a good name, after all.
The suggestion of [name]Mirabel[/name]/[name]Mirabella[/name], [name]Lucia[/name] & [name]Annabella[/name] are good ones.
I’m the opposite of you, with an Italian man! Some good Italian(ish) names I’ve considered:
[name]Isadora[/name]
[name]Adelina[/name]
[name]Francesca[/name] *
[name]Ines[/name]
[name]Dafne[/name]
[name]Eliana[/name]
Rosabella
[name]Silvia[/name]
[name]Aurelia[/name]
[name]Oriana[/name] *
[name]Sonia[/name] *
[name]Perla[/name]
[name]Claretta[/name]
[name]Eloisa[/name]
[name]Liliana[/name]
I have recently seen Elisabella, which is pretty and still uncommon, though the [name]Bella[/name] nickname would still be an issue. However, there are alternatives, like [name]Ellie[/name] or [name]Libbie[/name].
I also think [name]Isadora[/name] is pretty, but less super-trendy. [name]Anabella[/name] and [name]Lucia[/name] are also lovely.
You could try:
[name]Ada[/name]
[name]Alessa[/name] (a la [name]Alessia[/name])
[name]Amalia[/name]
[name]Amanda[/name]
[name]Antonina[/name] (a la [name]Antonia[/name])
[name]Aurelia[/name]
Brunilda
[name]Calliope[/name]
[name]Callista[/name]
[name]Eleonora[/name] (a la [name]Eleanor[/name])
[name]Eloisa[/name] (like [name]Eloise[/name])
[name]Emilia[/name]
[name]Evelina[/name]
[name]Isabetta[/name]
[name]Isabela[/name] (spelled like this, …)
[name]Ysabel[/name], [name]Ysabella[/name], Ysabeau
Here are some bella names: Rosabella, [name]Corabella[/name], [name]Sybella[/name], [name]Annabella[/name], [name]Arabella[/name]
Why not stick it in the middle? A name like [name]Vivienne[/name] [name]Isabella[/name] tradename would sound good if you like girly names. I wouldnt let go of the name if you love it this much.
I love [name]Isabella[/name]! The popularity of it puts me off a bit, honestly, too, which is why I’ve opted for [name]Isabelle[/name]–it ranks better at 114 (imo, anyway), but [name]Isabelle[/name]'s not too different from [name]Isabella[/name], honestly, haha.
I like the idea of another [name]Bella[/name] name–that way you could still use the nn [name]Bella[/name] that is so meaningful to you. [name]Mirabella[/name], [name]Annabella[/name], and [name]Arabella[/name] are great suggestions–I think Miabella would be nice, too, and has a very Italian feel to me. I like that it means “my beauty” or “my beautiful one”, too. From your other options [name]Olivia[/name] and [name]Adelaide[/name] are my favorites. I really love [name]Cora[/name], too, but I’m not as crazy about [name]Coraline[/name]. Have you considered [name]Corabella[/name] or [name]Corabelle[/name]?
What about:
[name]Arianne[/name]/[name]Ariana[/name]/[name]Ariane[/name]/[name]Arielle[/name]/[name]Aurelia[/name]/[name]Aurora[/name]
[name]Charlotte[/name]
[name]Violet[/name]
[name]Rachel[/name]
[name]Harper[/name]
[name]Eleanor[/name]
[name]Liliana[/name]
[name]Greta[/name]
[name]Serena[/name]
[name]Caroline[/name]
[name]Camille[/name]
[name]Olive[/name] (less common alternative to [name]Olivia[/name], maybe?)
The first name I thought of was [name]Sienna[/name] as it is an Italian place-name and would be a nice nod to your Italian culture. If you still love [name]Isabella[/name], I also like the suggestion of using it as a middle name.
Before giving up on [name]Isabella[/name], you may want to check and see how popular [name]Isabella[/name] is in your area. Although it is extremely popular nationwide, it may not be nearly as popular where you live. For example, I live in [name]Dallas[/name], where I know maybe a couple of Isabellas, but I know at least twice as many Addisons.
If you can’t go with [name]Isabella[/name], I love people’s suggestions of [name]Arabella[/name] or [name]Mirabella[/name].
[name]Love[/name], [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Isabella[/name]. I agree with the suggestion to put [name]Isabella[/name] in the middle or use the other -bella names.