Bella
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Italian. From Italian: a diminutive of Isabella and Arabella, by folk etymology interpreted as bella (“beautiful”).
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Bella (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Bella has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2019. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | 10 |
| 2001 | 15 |
| 2002 | 21 |
| 2003 | 32 |
| 2004 | 37 |
| 2005 | 51 |
| 2006 | 61 |
| 2007 | 63 |
| 2008 | 65 |
| 2009 | 59 |
| 2010 | 86 |
| 2011 | 92 |
| 2012 | 93 |
| 2013 | 96 |
| 2014 | 92 |
| 2015 | 93 |
| 2016 | 92 |
| 2017 | 89 |
| 2018 | 97 |
| 2019 | 132 |
| 2020 | 100 |
| 2021 | 98 |
| 2022 | 101 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 86 |
| 2000 | 98 |
| 2001 | 116 |
| 2002 | 141 |
| 2003 | 172 |
| 2004 | 216 |
| 2005 | 275 |
| 2006 | 342 |
| 2007 | 414 |
| 2008 | 489 |
| 2009 | 559 |
| 2010 | 657 |
| 2011 | 752 |
| 2012 | 859 |
| 2013 | 960 |
| 2014 | 1,063 |
| 2015 | 1,174 |
| 2016 | 1,285 |
| 2017 | 1,399 |
| 2018 | 1,516 |
| 2019 | 1,663 |
| 2020 | 1,785 |
Bella in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Bella.Hi! My name is Bella.
- Bella ringde och sa att hon blir lite sen.Bella called and said she'll be a bit late.
- Jag ska fika med Bella i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Bella this afternoon.
- Bellas mamma är lärare.Bella's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Bellas mamma is Bella's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Bella
How do you pronounce Bella in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Bella in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Bella mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Italian. From Italian: a diminutive of Isabella and Arabella, by folk etymology interpreted as bella (“beautiful”).
How popular is Bella in Sweden?
101 babies were named Bella in 2022. In 2020, 1,785 people in Sweden had Bella as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2019 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.