About Isla
Isla is a Scottish name taken from Islay, the island off Scotland’s west coast. It is pronounced EYE-luh, with a silent s and two syllables. The name combines a specific island connection with a striking modern rise: by 2025 it was among the thirty most-used girls’ names in the United States.
The island behind the name
Isla developed as a feminine variant of Islay. The island is called Ìle in Scottish Gaelic, but the deeper derivation of its name is disputed. Its connection with the place is clear even though a single ancient literal meaning is not.
The same spelling, isla, is the Spanish word for “island.” That word has a different pronunciation and should be distinguished from the Scottish personal name’s history. The matching spelling makes the island image especially noticeable, but the Scottish form comes through Islay.
Islay is the closest related name, and Iyla is a modern English variant. Isla’s two-syllable rhythm is already compact; the full name keeps the sound of the island without the final y of Islay.
A Scottish setting
Islay belongs to the Hebrides and is particularly associated with whisky. Its coastal distilleries and settlements such as Bowmore, Port Ellen, and Port Charlotte form part of the geographical background carried by the name.
The island also has a history beyond its distilleries. The Museum of Islay Life at Port Charlotte explores the local community, while the Kildalton Cross is one of its distinctive historic monuments. An annual book festival brings another kind of storytelling to the island.
These are connections with a particular Scottish place, rather than an abstract seaside meaning. They give the name a setting that remains recognizable even as its use has spread far beyond Scotland.
Isla Fisher
Actor Isla Fisher gives the name a familiar screen association. In Confessions of a Shopaholic, she plays Becky Bloomwood, a woman who wants to write for a fashion magazine but ends up writing a personal-finance column.
Fisher has also written for children. Marge in Charge follows a babysitter whose apparently conventional arrival gives way to mischief once the children’s parents leave. Jemima and Jake Button discover that Marge has a much less ordinary approach to babysitting than they expected. Fisher also narrates the audiobook.
The two connections place the same first name in adult screen comedy and children’s storytelling, extending its cultural familiarity beyond the Scottish landscape.
American popularity
Isla was rare in American records in the middle of the twentieth century, with nine girls receiving it in 1950. There were still only 37 in 2000.
Growth became much faster afterward. In 2010, 1,099 girls were named Isla, ranking 297th. By 2025, the total had reached 6,012 and the rank was 28th, its highest position in the local SSA series. That change is substantial even within the relatively short span of a generation.
Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution
Meaning and history draw on the references below. American popularity uses the local Social Security Administration series for this exact spelling and sex; counts below five are omitted. Existing Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA. Suggested shortenings are identified in the prose.
How popular is Isla?
In 2025, Isla ranked #28 among girls in the United States, with 6,012 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1886; its largest annual count was 6,012 in 2025. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.