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I choose Belle

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My first thought is always Beauty and the Beast. My second thought is of a bell. The the term belle of the ball always pops into my head. And then my partners sister's nn which is Ceili Belle. Then I think of bell shaped flowers.

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I think there are a lot of Bella's and not many Belle's. I like the spelling Isabel but I am not as fond of Isabelle. I've never been very fond of Annabelle or Annabella, though I prefer Annabel / Annabelle. Isabella and Bella is too common in my opinion. Bell reminds me too much of bells. Belle is short and sweet. I have no negative associations so I would go with Belle out of these. Plus I love the sound of bells. They are so pretty, I would love to learn to play the bells and be in a bell choir.

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This message was edited 8/22/2012, 9:06 AM

Just wanted to add that I have known 1 Belle. She was in my brother's class in grade school which means she'd be about 20/21 now and she had a twin sister named Mimi. I've always loved that twin set = Mimi and Belle = so sweet light, and it fit them perfectly

Belle is great. I like it a lot. More and more all the time, actually.

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I think Belle, by virtue of its single-syllable tidiness, is more distinctive than Bella, Isabelle, or Isabella, but there's no denying there are a lot of girls with very similar/related names running around. That doesn't even count the Annabels and Arabellas, or all the Ellies and El- starting or -el ending names.

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I've never known a Belle, but I have seen it multiple times as a middle name. FWIW, I only like Belle as a fn. It seems like all these short, pretty names end up used over and over as stock middle names, and that just drains them of so much of their charm.

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I prefer Belle over Bella, and I would personally choose Isabelle, nn Belle, over just Belle. I love Isabelle, though, so it's a win-win for me and an easy choice. If I didn't love Isabelle, I'd just use Belle. I think it's fine on its own.

I like Belle on its own, as both a first and middle name. I prefer it to Bell.

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I have never met a Belle, nor do I find it to be a common middle name. However, I do think that right now there are too many Isabellas, Isabelles, Annabels, Bellas, etc for it to make a real impact.

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Belle over Bella, any day.
Just Belle- I'm not really a fan of Isabelle, but I do like Isabel.

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Of those choices, I'd pick Belle.

I really like Belle. I do worry that it's been polluted by Isabella's popularity, but it's still a cute name. I like it MILES more than Bella, which is silly and tacky to me.

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I really prefer Isabelle in full, so I think I prefer Belle as its own name.

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Hmmm...
I'd pick either Isabelle or Annabel. I really, really love Isabelle (or my preferred Isabel), but the popularity has made it unusable for me. I still think it's one of the prettiest names out there, though.
Ah, but Annabel. I love it, too. If the -bel trend wasn't so *now*, I'd use it in a second.

I love Belle on her own. If she's to be a nickname, I best like Annabelle as full name.

Belle is cute but I only like it as a nn. I LOVE Isabelle (prefer Isabel). It's gorgeous and elegant.

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My second choice would be Annabel. I find it sweet and a little childish, but still beautiful.

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:)

I like the simplicity of Belle best followed by the elegant Isabelle. Annabel is quirky cute and I considered that myself for dd #3, but in the long run, I'd rather go with elegance or simplicity over cuteness.

This message was edited 8/20/2012, 1:54 PM

I think Belle is cheesy and silly. I wouldn't support using it as a full name. Personally, I dislike it even as a nickname.

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I've never met a "just" Belle.

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I'd guess she'd know one or two Isabelle variants, but that's not so bad. However, given the many "Belle" names, the name seems a little boring.

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From your list, I would choose Annabelle. But from the rest of the Belle names, I choose Arabella, Bellatrix, Mirabelle, or Sabella.

I like Belle, but I like it even more as a nickname for Isabelle / Isobel.

Belle is very pretty, no pun intended. One syllables names can be so refreshing. She will be joined by Isabelles, Bellas, etc. But parents are striving for uniqueness so much now that a popular name is no longer as ubiquitous as it used to be. So I think you're safe with Belle.

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Of the names you've listed, give me confident Isabelle, nn Belle. It will still look and sound ultra gorgeous when she's a stunning 80 year old woman.

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As a stand alone name, Belle Marianne and Belle Ariadne are my stock combos for her. :-)

This message was edited 8/20/2012, 11:15 AM

I find Belle really pretty if not a bit insubstantial, I would use Isabella with the nickname Bella - I prefer Bella to Belle.

I think it's nice. I like it more than Bella and Bell. Isabelle/a, An(n)abelle/a etc. are a bit too frilly for me but I like Arabella and Isabel.

It's a fine name I wouldn't mind seeing used.

There must be more than this provincial life...

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Sorry, but every time someone mentions this name, I have to. :)

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Seriously, though, it's a good name. I'm not in love with it, but it's pretty and I don't think it sounds ridiculous on a real person. I would use it by itself.

This message was edited 8/20/2012, 10:12 AM