What heritage do you think IsBell is?

Question

IsBell is my mother's maiden name. I have been courious to find out where That name originated from. I've been told it might be welsh, french or even english. The spelling is correct..IsBell. I've asked my mother and my grandmother dozens of times.. they dont know. My grandfather passed away when my mom was very young. So the answer is unknown. So I'm hoping does anyone here have any ideas or insights??

Answer 1

Isbell Name Meaning and History

English: from the female personal name Isabel(l)(a). This originated as a variant of Elizabeth, a name which owed its popularity in medieval Europe to the fact that it was borne by John the Baptist’s mother. The original form of the name was Hebrew Elisheva ‘my God (is my) oath’; it appears thus in Exodus 6:23 as the name of Aaron’s wife. By New Testament times the second element had been altered to Hebrew shabat ‘rest’, ‘Sabbath’. The form Isabella originated in Spain, the initial syllable being detached because of its resemblance to the definite article el, and the final one being assimilated to the characteristic Spanish feminine ending -ella. The name in this form was introduced to France in the 13th century, being borne by a sister of St. Louis who lived as a nun after declining marriage with the Holy Roman Emperor. Thence it was taken to England, where it achieved considerable popularity as an independent personal name alongside its doublet Elizabeth.

Answer 2

Originally Hebrew or Greek, but believed to be Hebrew.  

"The original form of the name was Hebrew Elisheva ‘my God (is my) oath’; it appears thus in Exodus 6:23 as the name of Aaron’s wife." and was actually a derivative of Elizabeth (Isabeth / Isa) and changed by Spanish to Isabella since the "el" and "ella" ending  usually is when it was changed by Spanish persons to show a feminine gender of the name.  After Spain name showed up in France, then England, Scotland and Ireland. (Some had migrated from Glasgow Scotland & Moville, Ireland.) Later came to USA via Ireland or Scotland and directly to USA or by way of Canada.  

In 1850 census you find most in south (Alabama, Georgia, Tenn, Virginia, etc and many were slave owners).  Before 1850 most came from Alabama, Kentucky, New York, Tenn, South Carolina or Virginia.

1850 had this # of persons by that EXACT surname:Alabama 75, Ark 22, Calif 1, Conn 24, GA 28, Ind 35, Iowa 5, Ill 40, KY 113, Mass 14, Mich 8, Miss 13, Missouri 69, New Jersey (some in this state were born in Ireland (4), England (2) & Canada(5)), New York 95, NC 13, OH 10, PA 19, SC 23, Tenn 88, Texas 22, Virginia 53, & Wisconsin 7

Remember though, that although name has always been Isbell as far as you know it may have been another name spelling and changed due to persons writing it incorrectly in documents (census, birth, death, marriage, etc) along the way.  Persons way back did not always spell the same way -- a person who is German will hear an Irish person say name and spell it then according to the German teaching of sounds; a French person and English person and Irish person will spell according to how they were taught to spell certain sounds - and thus the name sometimes is found many different spellings through history, but for the same family.

There are several groups on ancestry.com and yahoo.com for that Isbell and Isabell etc. surname and you can join and read messages from other persons with that name.   If you are planning on starting your family tree to go backwards in your ancestry I am willing to help you - just contact me and put Isbell in subject line: [e-mail] - I do not offer this to just anyone but will need some info from you like anything you know about grandparents' names, what state or location they lived in, etc. so I can help you trace it backwards.