girl's name
Arielle
ah-ree-EL
- Origin Hebrew
- Gender Girl
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 40,149
the United States
#486
2025 births
Arielle is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "lion of God". It is the French feminine form of Ariel, a name the Hebrew Bible uses both for a man and, more strikingly, as a title for the city of Jerusalem itself.
- Arielle is a name of Hebrew origin.
- Peaked in 1991, when 1,631 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 5,365 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1962.
Arielle over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1960s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 21 |
| 1970s | 222 |
| 1980s | 4,071 |
| 1990s | 8,506 |
| 2000s | 4,774 |
| 2010s | 8,792 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 4,535 |
What Arielle means
Arielle means lion of God, from the Hebrew ari, lion, and El, God. The lion is the emblem of the tribe of Judah, which is why the same word could stand for Jerusalem without anyone needing the connection explained.
Where Arielle comes from
Arielle is the French feminine of Ariel, from the Hebrew Ariel, combining ari, lion, with El, God. The name appears twice in the Hebrew Bible in ways that pull in different directions: in Ezra it belongs to one of the men Ezra sends to find Levites, and in Isaiah it is an address to Jerusalem, the city called lion of God and warned of a siege. Later Jewish and Christian angelology attached the name to an angel, and Shakespeare gave it to the spirit in The Tempest, which is where its long association with airy, weightless things begins — an association the Hebrew does not support at all. The French feminine form with its doubled L reached English speakers in the twentieth century, and its use rose sharply in North America at the end of the 1980s.
Arielle in use
Arielle charts in five of the seven markets we track, and Canada is where it ranks highest — 266th, ahead of its position in the United States, England and Wales, Scotland and France.
How popular is Arielle?
In 2025, Arielle was given to 618 babies in the United States, ranking #486 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Arielle is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Arielle
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Arielle also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Arielle over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Arielle
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Arielle in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Arielle
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Arielle — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Arielle
What does the name Arielle mean?
Lion of God, from the Hebrew ari, lion, and El, God. Arielle is the French feminine form of Ariel.
Is Arielle a biblical name?
Ariel is. It belongs to a man in the book of Ezra and is used as a name for Jerusalem in Isaiah. The feminine Arielle is a much later French form.
What is the difference between Ariel and Arielle?
Arielle is the French feminine spelling. Ariel is the original Hebrew form and is given to both girls and boys.
How popular is the name Arielle?
In 2025, Arielle was given to 618 babies in the United States, ranking #486 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Arielle a girl's or a boy's name?
Arielle is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
When was Arielle most popular?
Arielle peaked in 1991, when 1,631 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Arielle?
Arielle is usually shortened to Ari and Elle.
Is Arielle a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Arielle currently ranks #266 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.