Isabel

For other uses, see Isabel (disambiguation).

Isabel
Isabella the Catholic of Castile (1451–1504) the first Spanish queen regnant and a key character in the Reconquista, the Spanish Inquisition, and Christopher Columbus' discovery of America
Gender	Female
Origin
Word/Name	Hebrew via Greek and Latin.
Meaning	"God's Promise" (from the Hebrew "Elisheba")
Other names
Related names	"Elisheba" & "Elisheva", (Hebrew) " Elisabel", (Medieval Latin) Isabell & "'Ysabel"' (Spanish) Isabella (Italian), Isabelle, (French, Dutch, Germal) Izabela, Isobel & "Ishbel" (Scots Gaelic) Ysabeau, Elizabeth (English)

Isabel is a Romance-language given name. It is related to Isabelle (French, Dutch, German), Catalan, Provençal), Isabella (Italian), and the English Elizabeth.

Etymology

This set of names is a southwestern European variant of the Hebrew name Elisheva. It also comes from the Latin "Helizabeth". It first appeared in medieval Provençal as Elisabel. It is clear both etymologically and contextually (the use of Isabel as a translation of the name of the mother of John the Baptist) that these names are derived from the Latin and Greek renderings of the Hebrew name.

According to Hanks/Hodges (166), the name is simply the Spanish and Portuguese form of Elizabeth, with loss of the first syllable and /l/ instead of /t/ (the latter sound does not appear word-finally in standard Spanish).Some people believed that this form of her name was first established sometime around 400 B.C. Some Romance languages now have both forms of the name concurrently. For example, Isabella and Elisabetta exist in Italian; Isabelle and Élisabeth exist in French.

An alternative etymology would suggest the ending -bel(la) comes from the Latin word bella "beautiful" (though it may be noted that it may also be translated as "wars"), while the origin of Isa- is somewhat uncertain, it may derive from a name, such as Isis, or Ye(ho)shua (known as Isa in Islam).

Still another suggests that it comes from the Phoenician name 'Iyzebel by a different route than that of the latter's most famous possessor; perhaps most likely is that "Isabel" is the result of a Hebrew, Phoenician, or Latinate name mutating under the influence of one of the other languages or of a similar name from one of the other sources, much like "Katharine."

Variants in other languages include the Scottish Isobel, the Scottish Gaelic Ishbel, the Danish Elsebeth and the Polish Izabela.

Isabella, Isabel, Bella and other variants of the name have been popular in English-speaking countries in the past five years. When Isabella became the most popular name used for girls born in the United States in 2009, many newspaper articles attributed its rise in popularity to the character Isabella Swan in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. The name's popularity had been rising prior to the publication of the series, but the books increased its usage. Meyer indicated in interviews that she chose the name for her main character that she would have used for a daughter if she had had one.

Royalty

Queens

For queens named Isabel, Isabelle, or Isabella, see Queen Isabella (disambiguation).

Other royalty

• Isabella d'Anjou (c. 1101/1107–1154), Abbess of Fontevrault, wife of William Adelin.
• Isabella of England (1214 – December 1, 1241) daughter of King John of England and Isabella of Angoulême, wife of Frederick II Hohenstaufen 'Stupor Mundi', Holy Roman Emperor.
• Isabella of Antioch (13th century), regent of Jerusalem.
• Isabella of Mar (c. 1277–1296), first wife of Robert I of Scotland.
• Princess Isabella of Armenia (died c. 1321).
• Princess Isabella of Portugal (1397–1471), wife and political advisor of Philip III, Duke of Burgundy.
• Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine (1400–1453).
• Isabella of Bourbon (1436–1465), wife of Charles, Duke of Burgundy.
• Marchioness Isabella d'Este (1474–1539), wife of Francesco II of Gonzaga.
• Isabella Jagiellon (1519–1559), wife of John Szapolyai.
• Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain (1566–1633), wife of Archduke Albert of Austria.
• Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil (1846–1921) — Princess Imperial of Brazil, daughter of Pedro II of Brazil, abolished slavery in Brazil.
• Isabelle, Comtesse de Paris (1911–2003).
• Princess Isabella of Denmark (born 2007)

Saints

• Saint Isabelle of France (1225–1270)
• Elizabeth of Portugal

Other famous people

• Isabel Allende, Chilean author and niece of Salvador Allende.
• Isabel Bayrakdarian, Canadian-Armenian lyric soprano
• Isabella Clark, wife of Prime Minister of Canada Sir John A. Macdonald.
• Isabel Godin des Odonais, traveler in the Amazon Basin.
• Isabel Martínez de Perón, President of Argentina (1974–1976) and third wife of Juan Perón.
• Ishbel Hamilton-Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair, authour.

Ships

• Isabella, a ship sunk in the Falkland Islands in 1813.

Places

• Mount Ishbel, Alberta, Canada.
• Ishbel Group, Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
• Sanibel Island, Florida, United States (derived from Spanish San Ybel<<Spanish Santa Isybella, variant of English "Saint Isabel").

Hurricanes

• Hurricane Isabel

Bibliography

• Hanks, Patrick und Flavia Hodges. 1996. Oxford Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press.

See also

• Isabel (disambiguation)
• A comprehensive list of article names that begin with Isabel
• A comprehensive list of article names that begin with Isabella
• A comprehensive list of article names that begin with Isabelle