Name of the Week: Belle

Origin:

Belle started out in the Middle Ages as a pet-form of names ending in -bel (most notably Isabel) but was quickly associated with the French corresponding French word belle “pretty, beautiful fair”—or bele in Old French. The corresponding adjective bel was adopted into Middle English in the 14th century.* By the 17th century, belle was used as a noun in English to refer either to a beautiful, well-dressed and charming woman or the reigning beauty of a group, as in the phrase "the belle of the ball."

Usage:

Isabel(la)—itself a form of Elizabeth—was a powerhouse name in the Middle Ages. Borne by royalty across Europe, it was common in Britain from the 12th century onwards. According to Geoge Redmonds poll of names from 10 English counties in 1377-81, Isabel was the 5th most popular name at that time, and Smith-Bannister's rankings from forty English parishes per decade from 1538-1700, puts Isabel consistently within the top 20 in each decade.  Due to this high use, Isabel developed many hypocoristic forms including Ibb, Ebb, Bib, Tib, Lib which in turn had the diminutives Ibot, Ibota, Ebbot, Bibet, Bibby, Tibot, Libot and Libby.  Bel(l/e) was one of these many hypocorisms, and even itself developed the diminutive Belet/Belot.* Reaney and Wilson have one example from the 1275 Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire of Bella used as a Latinised form of Bele, for the record of a woman named Bele Coty.*  This use of the short-form Bell lead (often partially) to the surnames Bell (which was also used for a bellringer or a person who lived by a bell), Beal (which is also derived from villages named Beal), Bellott, Bellson (which also owes its use to Belisant) and Dambell (which means "Lady Bele" and would have been given to a servant of a lady with the name).  Bell continued into the 16th century. The Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources has three examples of Bell in use in Northumberland in Wills from 1536, which, interestingly, is where Bella was most common initially.  While rare as an independent name, Bell (the most common spelling in England initially) was in small use in Britain in the 19th century. Dickens used Belle for a minor character in A Christmas Carol in 1843, but it did not spark much usage as an independent name. Bella was slightly more common, but neither was used enough to break into the top 200 in any given year. Isabella (the most popular form at this time) and Isabel both ranked in the top 100 from 1840 to 1900, so Bell may have been more commonly used as a pet-form. Records in the England and Wales Birth Index:   Bell Belle Bella 1840s: 1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s: 67 births 73 births 118 births 105 births 135 births 97 births 64 births 16 births 19 births 4 births 8 births 1 births 0 births 3 births 9 births 14 birth 13 births 21 births 31 births 74 births 61 births 63 births 56 births 29 births 18 births 9 births 2 births 17 births 171 births 144 birth 213 births 458 births 531 births 629 births 686 births 627 births 423 births 117 births 35 births 27 births 45 births 99 births Belle had more success in the 19th century in America, ranking #90 in 1880, #127 in 1890 and #181 in 1900. Notable bearers from this era include First Lady of West Virginia, Belle Goshorn MacCorkle (1841–1923), Confederate spy Belle Boyd (1843–1900), American outlaw Belle Starr (1848-1893) and political advisor Belle Moskowitz (1877–1933), who the New York Times referred to as "the most powerful woman in United States politics."* Despite its French origins, Belle can only be found a handful of times as an independent name in France itself, though Isabelle ranked in the French top 100 from 1900 to 1918 and 1949 to 1991. Indeed, official data from Insee states that Belle has only ranked in 1981 (3 births), 2010 (3 births), 2011 (3 births), 2013 (3 births), 2015 (4 births) and 2016 (4 births). Presumably, it would have been as daring to them to call their daughters Belle, as it would be for us to call our daughters "Beautiful" or "Pretty." Belle was used in the original French version of the fairy-tale La Belle et la Bête (“Beauty and the Beast"), first recorded by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve in 1740. In many English-language retellings of the tale, the heroine's name is translated directly as "Beauty", or sometimes given a completely different name such as Althea or Catherine. However, since the late 20th century, some English versions have chosen to call the character Belle—such as the 1976 American TV film. Famously, Disney used Belle for their animated version of the tale in 1991, though curiously, this had little impact on the usage of the name Belle in Britain, which remained rare until the turn of the 21st century.  In England and Wales, Belle ranked below the top 1000, in every year but one, until 2007.  Similarly, in Scotland, Belle had no more than 4 births in any given year until 2009. A noticeable change came in 2011 when Holly Willoughby named her daughter Belle. The impact was immediate and widespread with Belle jumping from #463 to #270 in England and Wales, and #509 to #229 in Scotland. This was also the same year that Bella entered the top 100 in England and Wales, boosted by the release of the Twilight movies (2008-2012). Since this time, Belle has been rising intermittently across Britain. It ranked #240 with 209 births in 2017 in England and Wales. Regional data from 2017 shows that Belle is most common in the East of England, with the exception of London where it is least popular:  N. East N. West Yorkshire E. Midlands W. Midlands East London S. East S. West Wales #213  #319 #266 #210 #247  #169  #496  #182  #260  #194 In Scotland, Belle ranked #156 with 30 births in 2018.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Belle Reynolds (1840–1937), American heroine of the American Civil War. * Belle Goshorn MacCorkle (1841–1923), American former First Lady of West Virginia. * Belle Kendrick Abbott (1842–1893), American author. * Isabella "Belle" Boyd (1843–1900), Confederate spy during the American Civil War. * Belle Cole (1845–1905), American contralto. * Belle Starr (1848–1889), American outlaw. * Belle Hunt Shortridge (1858–1893), American author. * Belle Skinner (1866–1928), American businesswoman and philanthropist. * Belle Moskowitz (1877–1933), American political advisor. * Belle Benchley (1882–1972), American director of the San Diego Zoo from 1927 to 1953. * Belle Cooledge (1884–1955), American politician, first female mayor of Sacramento, California. * Belle Montrose (1886–1963), Irish-American actress. * Belle Mitchell (1889–1979), American film actress. * Belle Bennett (1891–1932), American stage and screen actress. * Belle Fligelman Winestine (1891-1985) American writer and suffragist. * Belle Baker (1893–1957), American singer and actress. * Isabella "Belle" Moore (1894–1975), Scottish Olympic freestyle swimmer. * Belle Baranceanu (1902–1988), American artist. * Belle Chrystall (1910–2003), British actress. Contemporary: * Belle Perez (born 1976), Flemish musician and songwriter. Literature and Other Media: * Belle, the main character from the 1991 Disney film Beauty and the Beast and 2017 live-action remake, based on the fairy tale. * Belle, a character from Charles Dickens's novel A Christmas Carol (1843). * Belle Watling, a character from the novel Gone with the Wind (1936) and the 1939 film adaptation. * Belle French, a character from the ABC television series Once Upon a Time. * Belle Dingle, from the ITV soap opera Emmerdale.

Variants:

Bella (Italian, Spanish)

Pronunciation:

BEL

Possible  longer forms:

Abbeline, Adabelle, Amabel, Annabelle, Arabella, Beletili, Belinay, Belinda, Belisama, Bella, Belisent, Belladonna, Bellamira, Bellamy, Bellatrix, Bellona, Belmira, Belphoebe, Beverley, Bluebell, Christabel, Claribel, Corabel, Cybele, Dulcibel, Dulcibella, Elizabeth, Gabriella, Gabrielle, Isabel, Isabella, Jezebel, Kimberley, Mabel, Maribel, Mehetabel, Mirabel, Mirabella, Orabel, Rosabel, Rosabella, Sabella

Sibling Names:

Mae     Ada    Rose     Lila     Mya     Eve  Rex     Seth     Otis     Rafe     Eli     Myles

Name Lists:

Vintage Names   Dulcet Dainties  Short & Sweet   Dickensian Names   Disney Names

 

If you like Belle you may also like:   Edie, Betsy, Tess, Lois, Alba, Polly, April, Hope, Olive, Nell

Thanks to Lydia Rose for requesting this name.