Explore the Family Name Isabel
The meaning of Isabel
French, Spanish, Portuguese, and English (of French origin): from the Old French female personal name Isabel, which is first recorded in late 11th-century Paris and Maine (France). It was an alternative form of Elizabeth, Old French Elisabet, which had a shortened pet form Isabet. Isabel appears to have originated as a variant of Isabet, in which the suffix -el was substituted for -et through re-interpretation of -et as a hypocoristic diminutive. The resultant -bel was early associated with Old French bel ‘fair, beautiful’, as is evident in the French variant Isabeau. From France the name was taken to England, where it achieved considerable popularity in the late medieval period as an independent personal name alongside its rarer doublet Elizabeth. In the form Isabel it also appears in Spain and Portugal, while in Italy it took the form Isabella. The French surnames Isabel and Isabelle are particularly associated with Normandy. History: Michel Isabel from Reux in Calvados, France, married Marie Jobidon in Château-Richer, QC, in 1673. His descendants also bear an altered form of the surname, Isabelle. Some characteristic forenames: Spanish Alfonso, Alvarado, Augusto, Belia, Josefina, Juan, Manuel, Mario, Romero, Santa.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Isabel in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Isabel has increased between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Isabel was ranked as the 23,454th most popular surname, but by 2010 it had risen to the 22,827th spot, marking a 2.67% change. The count of people with this surname also increased from 1,011 in 2000 to 1,122 in 2010, a surge of almost 11%. Accordingly, the proportion of people named Isabel per 100k residents slightly rose from 0.37 to 0.38 over the same period.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #23,454 | #22,827 | 2.67% |
| Count | 1,011 | 1,122 | 10.98% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.37 | 0.38 | 2.7% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Isabel
When it comes to ethnic identity, the Isabel surname is mostly associated with White, Hispanic, and Black populations according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. In 2000, the largest percentage of people with the Isabel surname identified as White (42.14%), followed by Hispanic (32.25%) and then Black (19.19%). By 2010, there was a slight shift: while the Hispanic population grew to 36.10%, the percentages of Whites and Blacks decreased to 39.04% and 16.40% respectively. Interestingly, the census recorded the presence of the Isabel surname among the Asian/Pacific Islander population for the first time in 2010, at 4.37%. No representation of the Isabel surname was found amongst the American Indian and Alaskan Native populations in either year.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 42.14% | 39.04% | -7.36% |
| Hispanic | 32.25% | 36.1% | 11.94% |
| Black | 19.19% | 16.4% | -14.54% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0% | 4.37% | 0% |
| Two or More Races | 3.46% | 0% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0% | 0% |