Belle

We live in the age of French girls' names ending in "elle." Brielle recently ranked in the top 100, and Noelle is not far below the top 200. Isabelle and Annabelle have also been popular lately. However, there is one old-fashioned name of that type that has yet to become popular again.

Belle, as we all know, is the French word for "beautiful." She began as a short form for names ending in the "bel" sound (including Isabel) during the Middle Ages. Belle did not become a full given name until the eighteenth century, around the time when Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve published her famous fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast" ("La Belle et Le Bête" in French). The "beauty" becomes Belle in modern English adaptations, including the 1991 animated Disney film.

Belle became more common during the nineteenth century, particularly in the United States. It ranked in the American top 100 through 1884 before falling from use, leaving the top 1000 in 1935. Outlaw Belle Starr (1848-1889) delivers rustic charm to her name, even though she was born Myra Maybelle. 

Belle returned to the top 1000 from 2016 to 2020 and again in 2022. Maybe the name is too tied to the Disney princess. Disney did not stop Jasmine and Aurora from being popular, but neither of these princesses is as popular as Belle. Regardless, the name is currently more common in England and the Netherlands (where Disney is maybe not as popular as it is here).  

Anyway, parents looking for a unique single-syllable French vintage name with fairy-tale ties are likely to consider Belle. A bonus is that the name brings to mind the phrase "country belle."


POPULARITY LEVEL: Below top 1000


NOTABLE REAL-LIFE NAMESAKES:
  • Former First Lady of Virginia Belle Goshorn MacCorkle (1841-1923)
  • American outlaw Myra Maybelle "Belle" Starr (1848-1889)
  • American author Belle Hunt Shortridge (1858-1893)
  • Jewish-American political advisor Belle Moskowitz (1877-1933)
  • American librarian Belle da Costa Greene (1883-1950)
  • San Diego Zoo director Belle Benchley (1882-1973)
  • First female mayor of Scaremento, California, Belle Cooledge (1884-1955)
  • American actor Belle Mitchell (1889-1979)
  • American writer and suffragist Belle Fligelman Winestine (1891-1985)
  • American artist Belle Baranceanu (1902-1988)
  • English actor Belle Chrystall (1910-2003)
NOTABLE FICTIONAL NAMESAKES:
  • Atlanta brothel owner Belle Watling in book and film Gone with the Wind (1936, 1939)
  • Protagonist Belle in Disney Animation's Beauty and the Beast, alongside its stage adaptation and live-action remake (1991, 1994, 2017)
  • Protagonist Belle in Christophe Gans' French film Beauty and the Beast (2014)

SISTERS: Clarice, Dove, Flora, Hattie, Iris, Lucie, Mae, Reba, Sylvie, Willa

BROTHERS: Anton, Clement, Duke, Frost, Harlan, Jules, Major, Pierre, Rex, Wiley


ALTERNATIVES: Bess, Bijou, Blossom, Blythe, Delta, Dolly, Dulcie, Fleur, Jolie, Snow




FURTHER RESOURCES:

"Belle." Names, Behind the Name, 21 Jan. 2022, https://www.behindthename.com/name/belle.

Nickerson, Eleanor. "Belle." Names of the Week, British Baby Names, 17 Aug. 2019, https://www.britishbabynames.com/blog/2019/08/name-of-the-week-belle.html. 


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