Belle

femaleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Belle: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Belle: Recorded every year since 1996, it reached #179 in 2018, and it stood at #325 in 2025.

4registrars recorded it
62times a registrar ranked it
30years from first to last
#179highest recorded position
15groupings it qualifies for

Region

Rising

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#2096
1997	#3174
1998	#1979
1999	#1805
2000	#969
2001	#1728
2002	#1104
2003	#1176
2004	#1209
2005	#1500
2006	#1052
2007	#706
2008	#632
2009	#525
2010	#463
2011	#270
2012	#255
2013	#321
2014	#254
2015	#268
2016	#261
2017	#240
2018	#229
2019	#266
2020	#252
2021	#324
2022	#345
2023	#340
2024	#311

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

RisingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in England and Wales in every year from 1996 to 2024.

In 2024: #259 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #295 among girls in Scotland, #311 among girls in England and Wales, #407 among girls in Northern Ireland.

Official data from 4 national registrars across 4 regions, 1996–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1996
First recorded at #2096 among girls in England and Wales in 1996 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Girls
Highest recorded2011–2024
Highest recorded position: #179 among girls in Northern Ireland, in 2018 (recorded 2011–2024).
Northern Ireland · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #325 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Girls

Belle appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Girls, which has ranked it in 29 years beginning in 1996, and has registered 2,852 births with the name.

Belle across 3 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Belle's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
England and Wales · Girls	#2096 (1996)	#229 (2018)	#311 (2024)	29 of 29	2,852 (1996–2024)	218 (2018)
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#635 (2006)	#220 (2020)	#325 (2025)	20 of 20	233 (2006–2025)	20 (2020)
Northern Ireland · Girls	#311 (2011)	#179 (2018)	#407 (2024)	12 of 14	74 (2011–2024)	11 (2018)

Belle by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Belle in England and Wales · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	28	4 of 10	7
2000s	313	10 of 10	31
2010sbusiest	1,789	10 of 10	179
2020s	722	5 of 10	144

Across England and Wales · Girls, the 2010s were its busiest decade, averaging 179 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 2010 and 2011, when recorded births rose by 92, from 89 to 181.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Belle appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1996 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #179 in Northern Ireland in 2018.

Belle's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	female	#311	139	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#340	126	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#345	124	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#324	147	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#252	186	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#266	181	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#229	218	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#240	209	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#261	194	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#268	186	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#254	193	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#321	146	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#255	192	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#270	181	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#463	89	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#525	76	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#632	59	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#706	48	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#1052	26	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#1500	15	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#1209	19	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#1176	19	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#1104	19	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#1728	10	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#969	22	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#1805	9	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#1979	8	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#3174	4	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#2096	7	High	Verified
2024	Northern Ireland	female	#407	3	High	Verified
2023	Northern Ireland	female	#328	4	High	Verified
2022	Northern Ireland	female	#218	8	High	Verified
2021	Northern Ireland	female	#237	7	High	Verified
2020	Northern Ireland	female	#228	7	High	Verified
2019	Northern Ireland	female	#213	8	High	Verified
2018	Northern Ireland	female	#179	11	High	Verified
2015	Northern Ireland	female	#426	3	High	Verified
2014	Northern Ireland	female	#278	6	High	Verified
2013	Northern Ireland	female	#284	6	High	Verified
2012	Northern Ireland	female	#297	6	High	Verified
2011	Northern Ireland	female	#311	5	High	Verified
2025	Republic of Ireland	female	#325	12	High	Verified
2024	Republic of Ireland	female	#259	16	High	Verified
2023	Republic of Ireland	female	#339	11	High	Verified
2022	Republic of Ireland	female	#357	11	High	Verified
2021	Republic of Ireland	female	#336	12	High	Verified
2020	Republic of Ireland	female	#220	20	High	Verified
2019	Republic of Ireland	female	#260	18	High	Verified
2018	Republic of Ireland	female	#387	11	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	female	#301	15	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	female	#476	8	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	female	#264	19	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	female	#304	16	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	female	#540	7	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	female	#295	17	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	female	#359	13	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	female	#510	8	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	female	#488	8	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	female	#750	4	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	female	#842	3	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	female	#635	4	High	Verified
2024	Scotland	female	#295	12	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland
Scotland hub — collected by National Records of Scotland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 4 registrars between 1996 and 2025, ranked in 30 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #179, first reached in 2018.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 218 births, registered in England and Wales in 2018.

A second registrar first ranked it in 2006, and 28 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Bellamy · #1923, 10y
Bellatrix · #2170, 13y
Ben · #6, 72y
Benaiah · #1758, 19y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 4 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Alara · #179, 28y
Amelia-Rose · #179, 26y
Bria · #179, 29y
Gia · #179, 27y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1990 and 1999.

Alara · #179, 28y
Amelia-Rose · #179, 26y
Bria · #179, 29y
Gia · #179, 27y

Belle was ranked #179 in Northern Ireland · Girls in 2018. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Belle and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Belle without appearing here.

Belle moved ahead of

Brittany Compare
In 2005 they stood at #1500 and #1500 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2006 that had become #1052 and #3548.
Kristin Compare
In 2001 they stood at #1728 and #1520 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2002 that had become #1104 and #2868.
George Compare
In 1998 they stood at #3174 and #3174 in England and Wales · Girls; by 1999 that had become #1805 and #3225.
Geraldine Compare
In 2001 they stood at #1728 and #1170 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2002 that had become #1104 and #2301.

Moved ahead of Belle

Harper Compare
In 2012 they stood at #255 and #284 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2013 that had become #321 and #160.
Nora Compare
In 2014 they stood at #278 and #365 in Northern Ireland · Girls; by 2015 that had become #426 and #269.
Ida Compare
In 2022 they stood at #218 and #243 in Northern Ireland · Girls; by 2023 that had become #328 and #178.
Hazel Compare
In 2022 they stood at #237 and #298 in Northern Ireland · Girls; by 2023 that had become #328 and #209.

Moved the opposite way to Belle

Abigail Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Belle went from #2096 to #311 while Abigail went from #21 to #154.
Aimee Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Belle went from #2096 to #311 while Aimee went from #70 to #1603.
Aisling Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Belle went from #2096 to #311 while Aisling went from #440 to #2000.
Alex Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Belle went from #2096 to #311 while Alex went from #161 to #2253.

Moved the same way as Belle

Ada Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Belle went from #2096 to #311 and Ada from #2683 to #40.
Alma Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Belle went from #2096 to #311 and Alma from #2096 to #234.
Alyssa Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Belle went from #2096 to #311 and Alyssa from #783 to #285.
Amalie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Belle went from #2096 to #311 and Amalie from #2096 to #1128.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1996 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #179 in Northern Ireland in 2018. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Belle

Belle at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Belle across 3 official records

Belle by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Belle appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Belle

Belle and the names beside it

Belle moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Belle

Moved the opposite way to Belle

Moved the same way as Belle

Belle at a glance

Belle across 3 official records

Belle by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Belle appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Belle

Belle and the names beside it

Belle moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Belle

Moved the opposite way to Belle

Moved the same way as Belle