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Belle is lovely. I've never cared as much for Bella and the 'Twilight' craze doesn't help. That said, I don't think Bella is a "bad" name, it just doesn't have the elegance of Belle. Personally, I prefer Annabelle over Annabella, but Belle works as a nickname for either. Another favorite of mine is Mirabelle, "wonderful". Maybelle has sweetness to it, though I do prefer Mabel. I don't see why Belle would *have* to be a nickname for something with the "bell" sound in it, however. Since Belle is associated with "beautiful" in French, I think any girl could be called Belle as an affectionate nickname, regardless of her given name.