Belle

The name Belle is a girl's name of French origin meaning "beautiful". Belle has nothing but positive associations, from "belle of the ball" to "Southern belle" to the heroine of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. As if this weren't enough good things, Belle is also one of the most familiar and usable names that mean beautiful. Though it has been overshadowed by the Twilight-influenced Bella and longer forms like Isabella and Annabella, Belle has its own Southern charm and would make a pretty choice as a first or middle name. Belle was a Top 100 name in the 1880s, but left the list in 1934. It returned to the US Top 1000 for the first time in 80 years in 2016. Its most famous bearer was the legendary Western outlaw, Belle Starr (born Myra); Belle Watling is a character in Gone With the Wind.