Annabella

Annabella is often considered the simple combination of the female names Anna and Bella; and, since “bella” is the Italian word for “beautiful”, one could legitimately assume Annabella means “beautiful Anna”. More likely, however, is that Annabella is the Latinate form of the Scottish Annabel derived from an old Anglo-Norman name, Amabel. Amabel is the French equivalent of “amabilis” which is Latin for “loveable”. Although Amabel is now obsolete, she birthed the names Anabel and Mabel before becoming extinct herself. Annabel became a particular favorite in Scotland and was generally confined there from the 12th century until the 19th century before enjoying more widespread usage among English speakers outside of the Scottish borders. One particularly famous Scottish name bearer was Anabella Drummond (c. 1350-1401), a medieval Queen Consort of Scotland having been married to King Robert III of Scotland. Her youngest son also became King James I of Scotland after his father’s death. In fact, Anabella Drummond was the great-great-great-great grandmother of Mary, Queen of Scots. Today, it’s a commonplace name throughout the English-speaking world and has produced several spelling variations over time. The current most popular spelling in the United States is the fanciful Annabelle followed by Annabella.