The baby name Isla has quickly become a twenty-first century staple for our daughters.
Thanks to Kayt for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
ISLAND
If your first exposure to Isla was Spanish 101, or maybe Madonna’s 1987 single “La Isla Bonita,” you may have assumed the name was pronounced EES-lah.
That’s accurate en español, but the name that’s rising fast today is not the Spanish word.
In fact, Isla has a silent ‘s’ – EYE-la. It’s Scottish, from the island of Islay.
Isla is simply an older spelling of Islay. It’s part of the inner Hebrides and known for its traditional whisky distilleries. 79 separate islands make up the archipelago, half inhabited and half not. Islay is considered the Queen of the Hebrides, the southernmost island in the chain.
So what does Islay mean, exactly?
The name was recorded as Il, Yla, Ila, Ilea, and Ile – the Gaelic spelling – over the centuries.
One story tells of a Danish princess – or possibly a goddess – named Yula. She filled her apron with stones and set off to find her beloved. As she walked, the stones fell and formed the Scottish Hebrides.
She never found him, and it’s said Islay was her final resting place.
While it’s quite romantic to imagine that a wandering princess lent her name to the island, it’s probably not so.
But whisper Yula to Islay to the baby name Isla, and the name would eventually catch on. It just took a dozen centuries or so.
ISLA FISHER
Isla Fisher was born in Australia to Scottish parents. She graduated from Australian television to American movies. 2005’s comedy Wedding Crashers marked her big break.
Fisher played Sophie Kinsella’s beloved Becky Bloomwood in the big screen version of Confessions of a Shopaholic. She was Henley in Now You See Me and Myrtle in The Great Gatsby. She’s been busy ever since. The Australian actress returned to the country where she grew up for 2022’s miniseries Wolf Like Me, now streaming on Peacock.
In the US, the name’s rise is closely tied to Ms. Fisher’s success.
But in the UK, especially in Scotland, the popularity of the baby name Isla predates the actress, and she’s not the first notable bearer of the name.
British actress Isla Blair’s career started in the 1960s.
Singer Isla St Clair – born Isabella – recorded her first album of traditional Scottish folk songs in 1971, and later became a successful television host.
The baby name Isla currently ranks #3 in the England and Wales. The same is true in Scotland.
Isla Elizabeth Phillips is the great-granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, daughter of Peter Phillips, son of Princess Anne. While she’s a distant twentieth in line to the throne, the name’s acceptance in royal circles may signal how very mainstream it has become.
BY the NUMBERS
The baby name Isla wasn’t unknown in the US. It appeared in the Top 1000 a handful of times in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The first version of this post, written in 2008, described Isla as “poised to be the Next Big Thing.”
That’s certainly proved true.
It wasn’t just Isla, though.
First came Ayla. It entered the US Top 1000 in 1987. Jean M. Auel coined the name for her 1980 bestseller Clan of the Cave Bear. Darryl Hannah played Ayla in the 1986 movie adaptation, sparking the name’s rise. It could be a Turkish name referring to the moon, a Hebrew name meaning oak tree, or simply an invention. As of 2021, Ayla ranked #108.
Traditional Ella has a long history of use, and ranked in the Top 100 at the turn of the twentieth century. It’s been in the Top 25 since 2005, and reached #16 as of 2021.
Factor in #25 Layla and #110 Lyla – choose your spelling for both popular names – and many vowel-forward, ends-with-la names for girls can be found in the current rankings.
But it’s the girl name Isla where the numbers look most dramatic.
Isla returned to the US Top 1000 in 2008 at #623. A year later, it reached #345. By 2018, it cracked the Top 100, and as of 2021, Isla ranks #33.
It could soon rival current favorites like Mia, Mila, and even Ella.
CHART-TOPPING FAVORITE
The baby name Isla has changed dramatically over the years.
It was obscure enough that JK Rowling chose it for a member of the Black family in 2003’s The Order of the Phoenix. (She married a Muggle named Bob and was disowned by her snobbish Wizarding family.)
Since then, it’s become a chart-topper in the US.
Actress Isla Fisher deserves some of the credit. But so does our love of flowing, liquid names for our daughters, particularly short and nickname-proof possibilities.
As for worries about pronunciation? While Spanish speakers may stumble, it’s worth nothing that the ‘s’ is also silent in island.
That similiarity reinforces the name’s ties to the natural world.
Alternate spellings like Iyla are starting to catch on, too.
Not so long ago, this might’ve served as a substitute for favorites like Ava. While those days are past, the baby name Isla remains a short, sweet, complete, and stylish choice for a daughter. The legend tying it to Scotland might make it a perfect heritage option, too.
What do you think of the baby name Isla?
This post was originally published on August 19, 2008. It was substantially revised and re-posted on August 31, 2015, and again on June 11, 2022.
I love my name! But I hate that nobody seems to be able to spell it when they hear it pronounced or say it right when they see it written down. Maybe it’s an English thing, ‘cos Scots and Americans never have any problem (unless they’re from a Spanish background).
And, by the way, I HATE being called Iz-la, although my nickname is Izzy. Weird, huh? Sadly, my name is becoming less unusual, and I may just become one in a crowd, instead of standing out :(.
Our daughter was born in May, Isla Audrey! Still happy with her name, although yesterday at the ped’s office, another approximately six month old baby girl was there, named, of course, Isla! LOL That was the first one I’d ever met though. I have no regrets. I am sure it will gain in popularity, but it is still a beautiful name. 🙂 Big brother Ronan loves her to bits.
I realize you posted awhile ago, but I had to comment. I was researching Isla because it’s our number one girls name right now…. and I already have a son named Ronan!!
That’s fabulous – what a great sibset!
I have a 2 year old girl who we named Isla Rose. I love the name and it seems everyone else does. I always get comments on her name. I have come across a few other Isla’s since having my daughter but it doesn’t seem to be getting too popular(thank goodness!!) My first daughter i named Sophie and there are sooo many Sophie’s now!! I think Isla is a beautiful name and it suits her perfectly!!
Sophie and Isla make for a lovely pair of names for sisters, Zoe! I think you have a knack for choosing fashion-forward names – that’s not a bad thing, but you tend to inspire others! 🙂
My husband and I adore this name. I’m due with a girl in May and she has been Isla as soon as we found out I was pregnant. I think it fits beautifully with our son’s name – Ronan. I do fear for any skyrocketing in popularity, but I think that Lila is going to fill that spot far quicker.
Congratulations, Catherine! I love Ronan, too – there’s a toddler Ronan on our block. And Ronan and Isla together? That’s a great pairing.
Let us know when she arrives!
This is a name I have recently fallen in love with. I find it wind-swept, tropical, and languidly beautiful. My husband pooh-poohs it, however, because he thinks everyone would call her EES-la, and she’d have to correct everyone her whole life (speaking as someone who has had to correct other people’s spellings of MY name my entire life, this is an argument that hits me where I live). So I’ve regrettably put her back on the shelf; pretty to look at, but not to touch.
My daughters name is Isla Juliet. She is almost a year old.
I dread the day when the name sky rockets. Im not into trendy or popular names and now all of a sudden Isla is popping up all over the boards. Its a little scary. I named Isla after my husbands Grandma. Im from Australia and even though Isla FIsher is Australian and Ive known of her my whole life basically, Ive never even considered her as a connection to the name. Strange.
I really do love Isla and I feel that it fits into a quirky old fashioned name rather than a trendy modern name. My other kids are Oscar and Beatrix and I think it fits in great.
Isla was in my top 5 until I discovered there was an actress by this name. I’m so afraid we’ll see its popularity skyrocket over the next few years. That being said, though, it still makes a great alternative for Ella, Emma, and Ava, at least for the time being.
I agree with RockingFetal, though, that it doesn’t have the kind of known history I usually like in my favorite baby names.
That’s interesting – I only have access to the US ancestry.com – I should probably upgrade – and Isla first pops up closer to 1880. What strikes me as curious is that those early Islas often have surnames that are definitely not Scottish or English. While it happens all the time, I can’t imagine a non-Scottish parent becoming aware of the name so early.
Maybe there was something – a song, a poem – not well-known enough to survive into the 21st century, but enough to influence a handful of parents? Or hey, maybe some of those Islas just married guys from Germany and points East.
Yes she was a Lila and that’s my first recollection of it too!
I think Van Morrison’s Gloria ruined it for me. It also feels very showy in a virtue-ish way but then I like Victoria and that is little different so…. 😉
Not one of the earliest bearers as she would have had to be born about 1900. You made me curious so I checked for Isla in ancestry.com, well England anyway and the first find is from 1840. For Islay, 1816.
Gemmy, you have a great grandmother called Isla? She must be one of the earliest bearers of the name. That’s fascinating!
And I think you’re quite right about Lila. The only time I remember hearing her before was in the old Sweet Valley High books – wasn’t the rich girl named Lilah? But she’s got a lot of buzz these days, that’s certain.
As for Gloria? I’m sure plenty of us thought that Hazel and Mabel were too moldy to revive, too – but if there’s one rule of baby naming, it’s that almost everything makes a comeback. 😉