NameCensus.

UK girl's name

Bella

Beautiful or pretty, a feminine name of Italian origin.

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Bella is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Bella popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #76, with 619 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2014, with 1,141 births.

This profile covers 14,112 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

The latest count is about 54% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 15,446 living people in the UK are called Bella. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Bella ranked #76 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 619 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2014, when 1,141 girls were registered as Bella.
  • Bella ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #80 in 2024.
  • About 15,446 living people in the UK are estimated to have Bella as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#76

2024

Births in 2024

619

Latest year

Peak year

2014

1,141 births

Estimated living

15,446

2026

Meaning

What does Bella mean?

The name Bella is a feminine given name of Latin origin. It derives from the Italian word "bella," which means "beautiful" or "pretty." The name Bella can also be traced back to the Latin word "bellus," meaning "beautiful" or "handsome."

The name Bella has been used since ancient Roman times, and it was particularly popular among Italian families. In the Middle Ages, the name gained popularity across Europe, especially in Italy, France, and Spain. During the Renaissance period, the name was widely used by Italian artists and writers to describe beautiful women in their works.

One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Bella can be found in Dante Alighieri's famous literary work, "The Divine Comedy," written in the early 14th century. In the poem, Dante refers to his beloved Beatrice as "la bella donna" (the beautiful lady).

Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Bella. One of the most famous was Bella Abzug (1920-1998), an American politician and feminist leader known for her advocacy for women's rights and social justice causes. Another notable Bella was Bella Davidovich (1928-2011), a renowned Russian-American pianist and music educator.

In the literary world, Bella Paton (1904-1976) was a Scottish novelist and playwright who wrote the popular novel "The Cleft Rock." Bella Akhmadulina (1937-2010) was a celebrated Russian poet who was part of the influential "Lianozovo school" of poets in the Soviet era.

In the world of art, Bella Rosenfeld (1900-1984) was a prominent American painter and sculptor known for her abstract expressionist works. Her contemporaries included artists like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning.

These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Bella, a name that has endured for centuries and continues to hold a special charm and beauty.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Bella over time

The chart below shows babies named Bella registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Bella, the clearest high point is 2014. The latest England and Wales figure is 619 births in 2024, compared with 1,141 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Bella
02855718561K199620102024

Decades

Bella by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Bella was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2020s #71 3,470 5
2010s #63 9,479 10
2000s #485 1,064 10
1990s #890 99 4

Geography

Where Bella is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Bella. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.

Bella ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #80 in 2024.

Scotland
50
Northern Ireland
26

Across the UK

Bella in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#83 in 2024

21 years of NRS records, 851 total registered

Northern Ireland (NISRA)

#80 in 2024

17 years of NISRA records, 554 total registered

Notable bearers

Famous people named Bella

  • Bella Maclean

    actor

    actress

    1997-

  • Bella Lee

    Hong Kong artist

    1994-

  • Bella Lam

    actor

    Hong Kong actress

    1992-

  • Bella Hardy

    singer; songwriter; singer-songwriter; fiddler

    English folk musician

    1984-

  • Bella Mackie

    writer; journalist

    British writer and journalist

    1983-

  • Bella Bayliss

    triathlete

    British triathlete

    1977-

  • Bella Freud

    fashion designer

    British fashion designer

    1961-

  • Bella Millett

    university teacher

    British university teacher

    1950-

Related

Names similar to Bella

FAQ

Bella: questions and answers

How popular is the name Bella in the UK right now?

In 2024, Bella was ranked #76 for girls in England and Wales, with 619 births registered.

When was Bella most popular?

The peak year on record was 2014, with 1,141 babies registered as Bella in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Bella?

Beautiful or pretty, a feminine name of Italian origin.

How many people are called Bella in the UK?

A total of 14,112 babies have been registered as Bella across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 851 more in Scotland and 554 in Northern Ireland.

Where is Bella most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Bella ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #80 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.