girl's name
Ailsa
AIL-sa
- Origin Scottish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (Scotland)
- Births on record 3,110
Scotland
#151
2024 births
Ailsa is a girl's name from Ailsa Craig, the volcanic island in the Firth of Clyde that supplies the granite for nearly every curling stone in the world. It ranks 151st in Scotland and is stable.
- Ailsa is a name of Scottish origin.
- Peaked in Scotland in 1990, when 52 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade in Scotland.
- Today about 1 in 1,315 babies in Scotland is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1974.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Ailsa over time
Births per decade in Scotland, 1970s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2024, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1970s | 147 |
| 1980s | 287 |
| 1990s | 450 |
| 2000s | 340 |
| 2010s | 390 |
| 2020s (to 2024) | 155 |
What Ailsa means
Ailsa means from Ailsa Craig, and the island's name is usually read as Norse for Alfsigr's island. Alfsigr itself means elf victory — alfr, an elf, and sigr, victory — so the name reaches a meaning only at three removes.
Where Ailsa comes from
Ailsa comes from Ailsa Craig, the granite island ten miles off the Ayrshire coast. Its name is generally derived from the Old Norse Alfsigesey, the island of Alfsigr, and Alfsigr means elf victory, from alfr, an elf, and sigr, victory. That makes the modern girls' name a Viking man's name worn down through a place name over a thousand years, and it only carries a meaning at all at three removes. Scots called it Paddy's Milestone for its position on the Glasgow-to-Belfast crossing. The island's specific granite, riebeckite microgranite, is quarried for curling stones and supplies essentially the entire world market — every stone at the Winter Olympics comes from there or from Trefor in Wales. The name's use for girls is a twentieth-century Scottish development, part of the same wave that brought Iona, Islay and Skye into use.
Ailsa in use
Ailsa ranks 151st in Scotland with 29 births in 2024 and is stable in our data with a peak in 1990. Our records carry it from 1974. It is rare elsewhere at 1,987th in England and Wales and absent from the American tables, which puts it with Struan, Eilidh and Ruairidh among the names that have stayed almost entirely Scottish.
How popular is Ailsa?
In 2024, Ailsa was given to 29 babies in Scotland, ranking #151 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Ailsa is used
Figures for Scotland withhold any name given to fewer than three babies in a year, so a gap means the name fell below that floor rather than went unused. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Ailsa
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Ailsa also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Ailsa over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Sibling names for Ailsa
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Ailsa — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Ailsa
What does the name Ailsa mean?
It means "from Ailsa Craig." The island's name is Norse for Alfsigr's island, and Alfsigr itself means elf victory.
Is Ailsa Craig where curling stones come from?
Yes — its granite supplies essentially the entire world market, including every stone at the Winter Olympics.
Is Ailsa a Viking name?
At two removes. If the Norse reading is right, it carries a man's name worn down through a place name.
How popular is Ailsa?
151st in Scotland, and rare everywhere else.
Is Ailsa a girl's or a boy's name?
Ailsa is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Ailsa?
Ailsa has 2 syllables.
Is Ailsa a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Ailsa currently ranks #151 in Scotland. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.