Belle is from the French belle (beautiful) — the feminine form of *beau*. **"La Belle" — "Beauty" — is the heroine of the French fairy tale *La Belle et la Bête* (Beauty and the Beast) first published by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve in 1740**; **Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's 1756 abridged version is the version most commonly read today**. **Disney's animated *Beauty and the Beast* (1991) was the first animated film nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards**; the live-action 2017 remake with Emma Watson became one of the highest-grossing films of 2017. **Belle Boyd (1844-1900)** — Confederate spy during the American Civil War. **Belle Starr (1848-1889)** — American outlaw. **A top-1000 US baby name from 1880 through 1934 and again from 2011 to present**.
Subject of Jean Cocteau's *La Belle et la Bête* (1946 film) and Bill Condon's 2017 live-action remake.
Belle reduces to four — the number of the French fairy tale.