Twitter, I need your help. Has anyone any thoughts on why the name Isabella might have been so popular in Scotland in the nineteenth century? There seem to be an extraordinary number of Isabellas in the headstones in the local cemeteries. @natlibscot

In many cases it is passed along the female line of the family. There seems to be a slight upsurge in popularity in the 1860s when Queen Isabella of Spain was in the news. @_Jane_Miller_ @HistoryScotland

But the name was well established well before that. The earliest we can find from the local cemetery headstones was born in 1778 with quite a few Isabellas being born in in the 1801-1815 period. Any thoughts very welcome. #deadisabellas #isabella

In.our local cemetery of approx. 300 plots we found 34 Isabellas. This seems extraordinary. Maybe it was simply the most popular baby name of its period.