Yes, you’ll find a hella lot of Ellas leapfrogging and hopscotching with Bella, Hayden, and Peyton. Do kids even hopscotch anymore? Maybe they’re texting. Anyway, as an alternative to Emma, Ella is one of the top “fresh-sounding” choices for new moms these days, as its sound is simple, lithe, and feminine. In fact, Ella is SO feminine, it actually means “her” in Spanish and is pronounced “A-ya.” Her French counterpart is Elle (“her”/”she” as well), also very popular amongst the under 5 set. Ella and Elle’s Italian cousin could be said to be Bella, which literally means “beautiful.” You won’t be finding any Ellas in Barcelona or Bellas in Bologna, but there are enough of them being born right here in the United States to go around.
How is that possible? You’ve checked the stats, and while Ella is on the rise at 21, it’s still not top 10? Bella is all the way down at 159, and Elle and Belle don’t even make an appearance on the top 1000 list. Please don’t refuse to believe me when I tell you all “ell” names are running a muck. How many Isabellas do you know? Isabelles? Any of them go by Bella or Belle? I bet almost all of them. There’s also Annabelle, which is on the rise at 196, and that’s not even counting Annabel, Anabel, Anabelle, and Annabella. Stella is bringing up the rear at 244, which is not insignificant. Ella, Ellie and Elle may conveniently be derived from any name containing “el”– Elizabeth, Eliza, Eleanor, Ellen, Elena, Ellery, Elliot, Ellison, Gabrielle, Gabriela, Danielle… which gives credence to my claim that it’s better to name your daughters Elizabeth than Elle (bias aside, of course).
Among trends, Elle is the most appealling. Other than meaning “her”, her only offense is to bombard the ear with oversaturation. If you’re in love with Ella and Bella but would like something a bit more distinctive for you daughter, the choices below come highly recommended:
Adela, Adele
Amélie
Antonella
Aurelia
Belén
Belinda
Christabel
Cicely
Cybele
Eleni
Eliana, Eliane
Elke
Elodie
Eloise
Elspeth
Emmanuelle
Estella, Estelle
Fenella
Fiorella
Giselle
Hannelore
Mabel
Marcella
Marianela
Marielle
Marisela
Mirabel, Mirabella, Mirabelle
Raffaella, Raphaela
Rosabel
Zélie
Aaah, those are beautiful options, if I do say so myself!
Illustration above by G. Brian Karas from Cinder-Elly
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
See this is exactly why I’m on the fence about Belle. I don’t want her to get lost in the sea that is the Ella/Bella craze. I think I’m back to the drawing board.
Sometimes, you have to take my blog with a grain of salt.
Belle is in honor of your grandmother, and that makes ALL the difference as far as I’m concerned. It’s a perfect fit with her two older brothers and your last name- no easy feat. If not Belle herself, what about one of the Belle alternatives I suggested, thereby incorporating your grandmother’s name but making it more distinctive? Belle also makes a lovely middle.
Don’t discard it entirely. You’re not choosing it “just because it sounds good.”
What a great alternative list you’ve got here!
I’m waiting for ZELda to start getting noticed too. Catchy Z beginning, big EL right there in tha middle, girly a ending. Also: EthEL? Or maybe that’s a bit too much of a stretch? What do YOU think?
I love both Adele & Eloise. I think it would be quite a battle to keep Eloise in full.
This is an awesome blog! There are some great names on this list, even though I’m not an Ella/Bella person – Mirabel and Eloise are particularly fantastic, and Belinda, nn Bel was a favourite of mine back in fifth form.
)
(I’m heron from BtN by the way – I reckon a post on fave names vs fave words would be great
Hooray! My love “Antonella” is getting some spotlight. Not too much though . . . I kind of want to hog her all to myself!
Great blog, I am one of those Ella fans. Actually I don’t mind popular names on a whole. I would definitely prefer a million Ava/Olivia/Sophia/Ella/Elle spawn running around over Nevaeh/Jazmine/Madison’s.
So true about no realizing how popular a name is though. Nicknames, nicknames, nicknames- very easy to overlook those.
Would love to see many of those suggested names being used more often, but then again if that was to happen they would not receive that much love anymore now will they. Funny how things work.
Well I know that and you know that but strangers at the park won’t know that! And teachers won’t know. I guess I just feel like its too “trendy” to be usable. Which is strange since its not even in the top 1000! Those pesky nicknames! I think it shall remain in the mn spot where it originally was meant to be.
*Hi Lola! Zelda recalls the notably nutty Zelda FitzGerald for me. It did occur to me to put on this list, but I thought Zelie was a stretch enough from Ellie. Aurelia and Hannelore were the only ones I chose without an El/Bel beginning or end. Aurelia especially seems prime for wider use. Poor Ethel still reeks of mothballs for me! She’s knitting in heaven with Gladys and Irma, and I’m satisfied if the similar Esther and Mabel are in the usable category. Still, Ethel is almost pretty if I ignore previous associations. Gladys too, is kind of happy-making.
*Trisha, Eloise and Matilda are my favorites for you.
*Brooke! So glad you found me! You can expect a favorite words/favorite names post before long. Thanks for the idea, and I certainly hope we see each other again.
*!!!DirtyHippy!!!, I promise to stop flaunting Antonella if you promise to start seeing the virtues of Penelope.
*Just Me, you’re completely right about great names becoming oversaturated and losing their luster. My favorites growing up included Isabella, Charlotte, and Olivia. All far too popular for my liking now, though I’m sure they will stand the test of time.
*Verity, love tag team posts!
*Jess, I hope my post wasn’t what dissuaded you.
levity says : I absolutely agree with this !
soup says : I absolutely agree with this !
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