decision time which variant to use

[mrsjamesherriot]

have finally decided on arabella or one of it's variants

arabella
arabel
arabelle

which variant is nicest and why?

is arabel a shortening or a name in it's own right . if it is a pet form sodo we put arabella /arabelle on the bc or is it ok just to use arabel .

arabel is a name just as isabel or annabel are names .arabella is the italian version just as isabella is a version of isabel

love ari as for a nn for a tomboy my one doubt with the name is it's too pribnceesy and that if she's a 6 foot rugby playing tomboy it won't suit but ari solves that problem nicely
bel is very sweet for a girly girl

I prefer arabel. Less fussy. Different sound to arable. Don't like -elle endings. Too princessy.

So... Arabel gets my vote!

I like Arabella best, and I don't think it is particularly princess pretty. If anything it's more on the horsey/sloany side. I usually use BehintheName for names, and whilst Arabella is Medieval Scottish, Arabel/Arabelle is not listed. So I'd go for Arabella

Arabel would still be a potential nn, along with Ari, Belle and Bella.

Arabella

No question. It's strong. Mind you, she'll probably spend the next 20 years being called Abigail. I'm Abigail & have spent the last 25 years+ being called Arrabella.

Arabella- lovely name.

The others sound like 'arable' a type of farming as pointed out above!

I was going to start this very same thread without the "Arabelle" version. Do you have a middle name picked out? I think we are leaning towards Arabella with a less fussy middle name. Then we can shorten to Arabel if we want.

As always, much depends on the surname to which we are not privy. Can you tell us how many syllables, OP?

Agree with notanumber.

MrsvWoolf what source would a professional use (and what is a professional name researcher)? I'm long past naming anything other than pets, but interested nonetheless. I don't like most name sites because they include anything and everything regardless of provenance (type in random letters and hey presto it becomes a name). My parents used the Oxford Book of Christian Names to name us, but I suspect it is somewhat dated now and perhaps a little restricted too