Name In Trend: Annabelle

Quite an appropriate choice for this week, don't you agree? I really had to stop myself from using a picture of that scary doll, as tempting as it was - but I wouldnt want to deter any of you from checking this post haha. Instead, you get a photo of the beautiful british actress Annabelle Wallis - you may recognize her from the tv series Pan AM, and if you don't, well she's the main actress on the movie Annabelle.

Annabelle is a name that has a few possible origins. For most parents these days, and even 100 years ago, it is probably just a combination of the names Anna and Belle. As a hebrew name, it means "favor" or "grace". However, if we dig deeper, we also find it most likely came into usage as an alternative spelling of Annabel, which in itself is a variant of Amabel. Amabel is of old french origin and it means "loveable", which I guess is quite straightforward if you think of the word "amiable". I suppose Annabel became more prevalent over Amabel because of the power of Anna, and later on Annabelle likely took over from Annabel because modern french spellings were all the rage. Personally, I find Annabelle the frilliest of the 3 variants, but its easy to see why it's so loved and preferred over the others. It also has something the other spellings don't have - it's the name of a type of wild hydrangea, making it a nature name.

Let's just see how it has performed in the SSA chart:

Annabelle was around back in 1880, at #471. It climbed during several years, reaching its 20th century peak in 1924 when it was at #254. After that, the name fell gradually until its exit in 1950. It resurfaced in 1995, a possible reason could be that Disney did a tv adaptation of the novel Freaky Friday that year, where one of the protagonists is a girl named Annabelle. Since then, the name has taken off rather quickly, and in 2013 it was at #81, its highest position to date, and rising fast.

Whether you spell it Annabelle, or Annabel, or Anabel, this moniker is gonna stick around for a while, and if you haven't heard of a little girl with the name, you will soon I guarantee you. The power of Annabelle, is that is has a lot going for it. Its very feminine and pretty, a characteristic that a lot of parents want when they choose a name for their daugthers. It's got plenty of nickname options, from the classic Anna, to the Disney-esque Belle, to retro cute Annie. It could be of hebrew, french or english origin. Its international. Its got the nature name tag. Its the name of a poem by Edgar Allen Poe. Its a celeb baby name, thanks to actor James Van Der Beek naming his daughter Annabel.

If you thought those associations were more than enough, it's now also the name of a creepy demonic doll, featured in the latest Halloween blockbuster movie Annabelle. Whether this will keep some parents off the name, we will have to wait and see, but I just can't see it falling or even stalling anytime soon. Like a lot of celebrities say, negative press is still press.

Alternative spellings of Annabelle include: Annabel, Anabel, Anabell, Annabell, Anabell

Similar names to Annabell are: Amabel, Annabella, Anna, Belle, Arabella, Arielle, Gabrielle, Danielle

Are you a fan of this Annabelle? Do you think the horror movie Annabelle will give the name a boost, or a stop sign?