Elisa
Meaning
“Italian/Spanish pet form of Elizabeth”
The story
Elisa is Elizabeth distilled to three liquid syllables, the short form Italy and Spain settled on centuries ago, and its American record is one of the steadiest lines in the book: present every decade since the 1890s, never a fad, never a fade. It rose gently to about 6,200 in the 1960s, crested at 6,800 in the 1980s, and was still holding 6,600 in the 2010s, with 4,240 so far this decade; almost no name a century old holds its level like that. The root is the Hebrew oath of Elisheba, my God is an oath, worn smooth by travel. Napoleon's sister, baptized Maria-Anna, chose Élisa for herself before he made her a grand duchess, and Italy's own Elisa sings under it today. Around it stand Elizabeth at about 1,668,900, with Eliza and Elise nearby. The fireworks belong to the cousins; Elisa keeps the flame.
Elisa around the world
One shared root links 26 names across 6 languages.
Shared root: from Hebrew Elisheva "God is my oath"; medieval Iberia split off Isabel, and the nursery split off nearly everything else
The constellation
19 more branches of this family
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Elisa peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Popularity in Brazil
110,902 people · the #296 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 1,832 · median age 8
Among people named Elisa living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 35,059 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Elisa
People given the name Elisa in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1960 to 2019. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Elisa deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Elisa truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Elisa fits with your family’s names and surname.
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