Meaning
Usage
Pronunciation
Famous
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Other
I've heard both ahr-uh-bell-uh and air-uh-bell-uh.
According to Wikipedia, Arabella likely comes from the Celtic òr a bheul "golden mouth", or the Scottish equivalent of Bel-óir, the Irish epithet for Saint Gregory the Great.
A bit too stuffy for my taste but you can get the nickname Ari or Bella out of it. I would look out for teasing as the first syllable is pronounced like "air" so people might turn that to "airhead".
I always think of the song Arabella by Arctic Monkeys, personally I love the song and the name.
I don’t understand the hate…this is absolutely gorgeous!
It's so beautiful, a nice and unique name. 💖💖.
This name is not Christian nor Italian, it is of Greek and Middle-Eastern descent, an ancient City in Jordan was called Arabella, it has recently been changed to Irbid, Jordan. The place is BEAUTIFUL. The name also doesn't have anything to do with prayers or praying, it means tough lion, little Arabian woman, and beautiful. RACISM IN THESE COMMENTS AGAINST ARAB PEOPLE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.
Pretentious.
It’s a pretty name.
I think Arabic.
It's an okay name but I recommend it as a middle name!
Underrated.
Arabella is a very pretty name, and a good alternative to Isabella or Annabella. This name might be too girly for my taste, but I still like it. I also like Arabelle.
Arabella Mansfield was born Aurelia Belle Babb. She became the first female lawyer in the United States in 1869.
Before I never really liked this name, but ever since I listened to “Arabella” by the Arctic Monkeys, I love it a lot more now for some reason. I find Arabella feminine, unique, sophisticated, and beautiful. The ‘Arab’ part doesn’t bother me and I don’t see why it should. I’m surprised so many people could hate a beautiful name.
The fact that people have the courage to say "It has Arab in it, therefore I don't like it" or something like that is just ignorant and childish. Arabs are beautiful people with amazing culture, and plus this name has nothing to do with Arabs. But yet, when it comes to European ethnic/nationality names, you guys don't say "Because it has Franc in it and it means Frenchman" but instead stay quiet.
Arabella is a Christian girl name, origin is Latin and Italian, maybe Scottish. It means yielding to pray, answered prayer etc. It's not a variant of Annabel.Possible meaning is: golden mouth/gold of his mouth from the Scottish Gaelic "òr a bheul" and "òr beul". (Please someone correct me if I'm wrong)
It’s okay, however, Ari and Aria as nicknames are awful!
Not sure how I feel about this name. It was on my baby girl name list, but I just don't love it...I'm not even sure I like it anymore.
I think this name is beautiful, considering it because we really wanted to use Isabella but that’s just so popular and we want a name where we can use the nickname Belle.
Sorry, but it sounds too much like Arabic but with Bella at the end. Not a fan at all. I’d hate being called this.
Not a fan at all!
It's pretty, but I'm not sure about how it will age.
I love it! The meaning "invokable, yielding to prayer" is so cool. Plus Arabella is what I would name a spider queen and spiders are my spirit animal.
Okay, I said I liked it below and I still do, but edging towards over the topness for me.
Arabella is an opera by Richard Strauss.
I used to dislike this name, but now I adore it! It's an absolutely gorgeous name.
I strongly dislike this name.
I hate this name. Sorry.
First, my daughter's name is Arabella. Second, this name is not English and it is not a derivative of Annabelle. It's Italian and it means yielding to prayer and beautiful.
Don’t get me wrong, the name is pretty and I have nothing against it. It’s just not really my taste as it’s pretty girly and a little too feminine-sounding. It’s alright. I prefer the pronunciation Ar-uh-bella instead of Air-uh-Bella. I like Arianna or Isabella better though.
I like it.
Elegant and uncommon. It kinda reminds me of the word "arachnid" though.
I had never heard of this name when we named our daughter, Aarobella in 2011. I originally wanted a B name, because my name is Brandi, and our other daughter's name is Brasen. We chose Brasen because it started with "Bra," just like my name.
We wanted my youngest daughter to have a meaningful name, as well, and I didn't want my husband to be the only one without a matching name. My husband's name is Aaron, so after a lot of thinking, I started playing around with using the beginning of his name for our youngest, as I had done with my oldest's and my name. We took the "Aaro," & in staying true to my love for B names, added the B name "Bella" to it, creating the name Aarobella. I loved the name immediately, and looked no further. We pronounce it "Air-a-bell-ah." I had never heard of this name until years later on a Hallmark Christmas movie. I love that all 3 of us girl's can go by B names for the most part. Brandi, Brasen, and Bella, but that both girl's names were chosen with meaning to include one of their parent's names.Aaron
Aarobella
Brandi
Brasen.
This is my name. My parents pronounce it 'Ar uh bella', but I pronounce it as 'Air uh bella'.
This is my name, and I have always loved it, but I think the nickname suggestions for this name are not really related to the name.
Lady Arabella Churchill — sister of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough (victor of the Battle of Blenheim, who Blenheim Palace was built for); mistress of King James II of England and VII of Scotland; mother of James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, Marshal of France. {I named my ‘Blenheim’ colored Cavalier King Charles Spaniel after her.}
It's so pretty!
Meh. This name isn't really my thing. It's quite nice, though.
It reminds me of that Arctic Monkeys song, which is a great association. Otherwise a cute name for a girl.
After researching the name further I found the name to mean 'little Arab girl'
in Latin. I love this name.
I think this is a pretty underrated name. It's old fashioned but not necessarily an old lady name. I prefer it to the more common Isabella. Also, the child can always go by Bella like my friend does.
It makes me think of a spoiled girl with curly red hair.
Not a fan of this name.
Way too frilly.
I love the name Arabella. Simply beautiful. Classic, feminine, and charming.
My name is Arabella, and I am quite confused why people care so much about the Arab part of the name?! I have enjoyed the compliments I get on my name :)
It's a good alternative to popular names like Isabella and Ariana. I prefer the pronunciation ARE-A-Bella. I have never known an Arabella, yet many Isabellas.
I would pronounce this as Air-ah-bella.
Arabella is a name derived from the Latin word 'orabilis', which means 'yielding to prayer' 'invokable heard prayer' or 'answered prayer'.
My daughter's name is Luna Arabella (Spanish pronunciation: Arra-beya). It's beautiful and I love it.
My daughter's name is Arabella! We pronounce it Air-uh-bel-uh.
This name is very beautiful. I like this one then the other Bella names that are popular now (Isabella, Annabella, etc.) The song Arabella by The Arctic Monkeys is a great name sake as well.
In Latin it means answered prayer. In various other languages it means praying one, beautiful lion, or I prayed for you.There is a famous violinest named Arabella Steinbacher. There are also several books where the main character is Arabella. The most common way it is pronounced is Air-ah-Bella but some people prefer Are-Ah-Bella.
Pretty but OH, so frilly! Still, I prefer the pronunciation of "R-uh-bella" It sounds classic to me. Air-uh-bella or whatever sounds more modern and made-up (like made-up names made in recent decades) but said either way this name conjures up images of a princess; real or fictional.
Lovely; makes me think of the Arctic Monkeys' song, and though I'm not super fond of that band, I still think it's a good song.
Very pretty but very frilly.
I like this name a lot. Wonder if Ari could be a nickname for it. I like Ari a lot, as well. :)
This name sounds like a little spoiled girl who gets to have all of the candy she wants.
Ave! I'm fluent in Latin, so I'm planning on teaching my kid the language, and I wanted to name them something Latin. Arabella was THE name that caught my eye - I really love the name.
I just named my daughter Arabella. The name is beautiful and I get so many compliments on it. I agree with the person who said it's the person that makes the name not the name that makes the person. And shame on the people who do not like it because it has "Arab" in it. I love this name! So happy I found it!
Arabella is the name of an amazing song by the Arctic Monkeys. When I have a daughter I plan on naming her Arabella.
Pretty for the right heritage background. Has a lovely meaning too. I'm just over the "bella/ella" thing.
I LOVE this name. It is my daughter's name, only I spelled it "Airabella". I love this spelling and chose it so it wouldn't be mispronounced as "Arr-uh-bella". It's definitely an elegant name and fits my daughter well.♡ I found out later that Donald Trump's granddaughter also has this name lol.
I named my daughter Ayerabella. I spelled it that way because in Italian it means Beautiful Answered Prayer, and she truly is! I decided to take the 'PR' out of prayer, and use it as Ayerabella. It's a beautiful name, I get compliments on it all the time, her middle name is Hope, Ayerabella Hope. Personally I like my spelling much better the 'y' gives it something extra! Beautiful name I would like to see more babies named Ayerabella, and I'd like to see this spelling used more often! :)
I personally love the name Arabella. It's classy and respectable names like this name that make up for Isabella. I use to love Isabella but the whole Twilight reference killed the name for me. Like now, when I see the name
Isabella I just see Twilight, which I don't like at all. I see this as a cute and frilly name. Also, the person who said this reminds her of Rubella - how? Unless you think Isabella sounds like Rubella, then that honestly is quite an idiotic thing to compare and it's not pronounced Arab-Ella it's Air-ah-belle-ah like two different ways to pronounce a name.
I'm Arab, and this name makes me laugh.
This beautiful name is behind the eponymous Georgette Heyer novel and the Arctic Monkeys song from their album AM. Both versions of the girl while completely different are positive, cool and attractive. Since I don't personally know any Arabellas (let's face it, sometimes that can forever ruin a name one would otherwise like quite well; for me that's Rebecca) I think of the Heyer character or the song when I hear the name. Love it, would consider using it.
This is such an unattractive name in my honest opinion. I believe Annabel is prettier, sounds pleasant to the ears, and is sophisticated and refined.
I don't like "Arab" at the beginning.
Arabella sounds like Ariel and bella. As if someone put two names together.
I hate this name with a flaming passion! It sounds like the name of a posh British woman who looks down on poor people.
This name screams pretentious. And plus, I don't think that this pretentious name can age well. So, Your little Arabella is a joyful little child with a princess name, but when she grows up and gets a job, people would wonder "Why does a grown women have childlish name?" No offence really, but even when your child is an old women, this name would sound nonsense. Thank god, if you name your child such a horrible name, she can go by Bella.
This would make a lovely middle name. However, I wouldn't use it as a first name.
Arabella Rose (born July 17, 2011 in New York City) is the daughter of Ivanka Trump.
My granddaughter named her daughter Arabella after her mother Hayley Araluen and Bella which she also liked, she did not know of the name she just simply took "Ara" from Araluen and put Bella on the end of it.
It's an anagram of 'bar label'.
Beautiful, sophisticated, classy, yet not too old sounding. What's not to like?
Is it uh-RAH-bel-la or AIR-uh-BELL-uh?
Arabella, while lovely, is very filly and uber feminine. I do love the nickname Ara.
I love this name! It goes really well with Ingrid. But I thought it was Dutch?
The Massachusetts Bay colony (note: not the Pilgrims' Plymouth colony) originally came to Massachusetts on 17 ships, the Winthrop fleet. The main ship was called the Arbella (or Arabella). Named for a Lady Arbella (or Arabella) who traveled on this voyage.
Though often thought of as English it is also an Italian name meaning "Answered Prayer."
Arabella Kiesbauer is a popular German/Austrian television host.
Arabella is okay, even though it sounds a bit pretentious. The funny thing is everyone thinks I look like an Arabella and I personally I can't see it!
Such a beautiful name! (:
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I really love the name, it seems so dignified. At first I thought it was kind of pompous but I have since changed my mind about it. I love the different nicknames that can come from it.
Arabella Blydon, known as Belle, is a character in Julia Quinn's novel, Dancing at Midnight.
Arabella is a really pretty name. It's just too bad that it's not used more often in the U.S.
Oh gosh! This is a BEAUTIFUL name! I LOVE the name Arabella! I think it sounds beautiful. :)
The translation usually given for 'orabilis' is 'easily entreated'; looking at the separate bits, the ora- element is in orator and oration, and the -bilis is the same as 'able'. So if you are orabilis, you will listen and respond to persuasion and entreaties. (You might be rather gullible, in fact.)'Yielding to prayers', in other words to requests, might be a good translation; 'yielding to pray', whatever it might mean, is not. As for the answer to a prayer, sorry, it's impossible. And why anyone would name their daughter a beautiful altar is unclear to me. It wouldn't sound very attractive in classical antiquity.
Dislike anything with -ELLA. Completely unsophisticated, borderline cheap.
Very pretty! I like it.
I can't stand this name. It sounds like "Arab-Ella", and also like a disease, and it's quite old-fashioned.
An interesting historical English bearer was Arabella Churchill (23 February 1648 – 30 May 1730) who was the mistress of King James II, and the mother of four of his children. Arabella was the child of Sir Winston Churchill (an ancestor of the Prime Minister of the same name) and Elizabeth Drake.
I like this as an alternative to the overused bella names. It sounds beautiful and I'm hoping to name a future daughter this.
Arabela Hyacintovna-Majerová is fictional character from the TV series "Arabela". She is played by Jana Nagyová ("nah-dyo-vah:").
This is a great name.
A very lovely name in my opinion. :D I'm using this name in a series of books I'm currently writing. (Even though it'll be a name of one of the antagonists, but still. XD)
I recently changed my name to Arabella. All of my friends and family agreed with me that it was a very good name. Many people compliment me on the name, and think it is a good name. I prefer it to the more commonly used -bella names. I like both nicknames Ari and Bella. It gives off a good feeling.
Arabella is also Latin, where it means "answer to a prayer" or "beauty".I think this name is a very pretty name, and it is not overused, and too far "out there", and it's completely sensible for any baby girl.
This name is a bit too frilly and pretentious for my taste, and it reminds me a bit of the disease Rubella (a.k.a German Measles). I do however like the variant Arbella (with only 2 A's), which is unfortunately not listed in this database. I would consider it for a middle name, and perhaps use something a bit more ... shall we say "untouched" in the first name spot, if you get my drift. I also like that the name has disputed meanings: either "lovable" (which is most likely the legitimate meaning) and "yielding to pray" (which is still lovely, even if it isn't "legit").
In Atonement, a novel by Ian McEwan, the main character writes a play called "The Trials of Arabella".
This name is a bit too much, if you know what I mean. Frilly.
I named my daughter in 2006 Arabella and love it! She fits the name. If you're someone that loves nicknames this name is perfect. Arabella has been called Bella, Ella, Arie, Bellabutton, Bellabutt, Bellicious, Bella etc etc. Since I named her I have heard there is a princess in a tv show in the Philipines named Arabella as well.
Arbella Stewart (not a spelling error - her name was spelt with only two A's) was a cousin of Elizabeth I and at one time expected to be named her heir. It didn't happen, of course, but she has sometimes been dubbed the "Lost Queen" of England.
I think Arabella is Babe's real name on All My Children (the character, not the actor). I don't like her that much, but I'm still trying to decide if I like this name or not.
I love the name Arabella. I would probably name my child Arabelle over Arabella and call her Arie for short.
An 18th century novel by Charlotte Lennox is "The Female Quixote: or, The Adventures of Arabella". The titular heroine is a noble, though misguided, young woman who has to learn to balance the realities of contemporary society with the unrealistic exalted ideals she has imbibed from reading too much historical fiction.
I think this name is beautiful and uncommon and a good alternative to the presently overused Isabella.
`Arabella` is a great name! A better variant to those other overused `belle/bella` names. Beautiful and unique.
Arabella in Spanish means "little Arabian girl", maybe.
Arabella means nothing like "little Arab girl" in Spanish. Please don't make up meanings if you don't know the language.
Arabella's simply gorgeous. It's much better than the overused -bella names (Gabriella, Annabella, Isabella).
I love this name mainly because of the meaning 'yielding to pray', it's lovely. I hope it won't become too popular if I ever decide to name any future child this.
In the movie 'The Prince & Me' starring Julia Stiles the prince's younger sister is named Arabella called Arie.
Arbella Stuart was an English noblewoman who was for some time considered a possible successor to Queen Elizabeth I.She was the only child of Charles Stuart, 5th Earl of Lennox and Elizabeth Cavendish. Her paternal grandparents were Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox and Margaret Douglas. Her father was a younger brother of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, second King Consort of Mary I of Scotland. Her maternal grandparents were Sir William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick.She died September 27, 1615 in the Tower of London after marrying William Seymour without first gaining the permission of King James VI.
I LOVE this name so much. I have picked out the name for my future child. It is just so pretty.
Arabella is auch a pretty name. When I have kids if I have a girl, I'm going to name her Arabella Marie. It's so elegant.
That name is already taken by my daughter.
Everyone loves it and says it sounds like a princess name.
Some call her "arr-a-bella" and some call her "air-a-bella"A name does not define a person, a person defines their name.
I think it's a nice name but maybe a little frilly.
Means Beautiful Altar. From the Latin ara (altar) and bella (beautiful).
I love this name! Unlike Isabella/Gabriella this name is underused and you can make many nicknames out of it. I have this name picked out for my future daughter. It has a great meaning and strikes me as a princess name.
I like it. It is a pretty, yet underused name. Maybe just a tad too frilly for me.
Arabella was the first wife of Jude in Thomas Hardy's novel "Jude the Obscure."
Arabella is the name of the wife of Jonathan Strange in the book 'Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell'. Her character has quite a big role in it, and a nice one too.
I love the name Arabella. I like it better than Isabella or Annabella.
For some reason I cannot explain, even to myself, Arabella has always sounded to me like a disease that makes red spots come out on you. Maybe Rubella is lurking somewhere in this name.
Arabella Drummond was a notoriously famous pirate.
In the book "The Odyssey of Captain Blood" by Rafael Sabatini, Arabella was the ship he comandeered and the woman that Peter Blood loved.
Arabella is an opera by Richard Strauss.
I really like this name. It's a great alternative to the overused 'Isabella.'
Sounds like an Arab called Ella.
Used by J.K.Rowling for her character Mrs. Arabella Doreen Figg the squib who kept an eye out for Harry while in little Whinging.
Arabella is a wondrous, beauty of a name. As a matter of fact, a tragic bearer of this name is our youngest president John F. Kennedy's still-born daughter Arabella, who is buried in their family cemetery which includes John F. Kennedy Jr., Jaqueline Kennedy Oanasis, and sadly babies Arabella and Patrick Kennedy.
A very unique and pretty name.

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