| Bella | Gianna | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Beautiful | God is gracious |
| Origin | italian | italian |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | BEL-uh | JAHN-nah |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1951 |
| Peak year | 2010 (5,136) | 2020 (7,903) |
| In 2025 | 2,129 | 5,634 |
| Trend | Steady | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Bella | Gianna |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 17,107 | 39,710 |
| 2010s | 43,218 | 34,665 |
| 2000s | 16,828 | 27,858 |
| 1990s | 854 | 6,368 |
| 1980s | 195 | 907 |
| 1970s | 236 | 420 |
| 1960s | 227 | 333 |
| 1950s | 305 | 54 |
| 1940s | 235 | 0 |
| 1930s | 363 | 0 |
| 1920s | 1,349 | 0 |
| 1910s | 1,576 | 0 |
| 1900s | 555 | 0 |
| 1890s | 431 | 0 |
| 1880s | 242 | 0 |
Directly the Italian/Spanish word bella 'beautiful', from Latin bella/bellus. NOTE: as a given name Bella is most often a short form of Isabella, whose own meaning is 'pledged/devoted to God' (a Hebrew-origin name, NOT beauty); Bella qualifies here only on the strength of the standalone Italian word 'beautiful'.
Italian feminine form of Gianni/Giovanni (John), from Hebrew 'Yochanan' meaning 'Yahweh is gracious / God is gracious'.
Gianna is more popular than Bella today: about 5,634 US babies were given the name Gianna in 2025, compared with 2,129 named Bella.
Bella means Beautiful (italian origin), while Gianna means God is gracious (italian origin).
In US records, Bella first appears in 1880 and Gianna in 1951, so Bella has the longer recorded history.