Ilsa
Meaning
“God is my oath (German/Scandinavian variant of Elisabeth); immortalized by Ilsa Lund in Casablanca (1942)”
The story
One film gave Ilsa to the world. The name is a German and Scandinavian short form of Elisabeth, keeping the ancient Hebrew meaning, God is my oath, and its face belongs forever to Ingrid Bergman, whose Ilsa Lund was the luminous, torn heart of Casablanca in 1942, the movie many still call the most romantic ever made. Yet the name never followed the fame. It barely registers in American records before the 1960s and has stayed at a whisper ever since, decade after decade, never rising, never quite vanishing. That makes Ilsa a genuinely rare pick with a five-star pedigree, instantly recognizable yet almost never encountered, carrying one of cinema's great love stories wherever it goes. Of all the names in all the world, hardly anyone walks in wearing this one.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Ilsa has stayed rare in US records the whole time: no peak decade to name.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
3,923 people · the #3,235 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 52,632 · median age 60
Among people named Ilsa living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1960s than in any other decade.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Ilsa
Most people given the name Ilsa in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Ilsa deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Ilsa 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 Ilsa fits with your family’s names and surname.
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