girl's name

Elisa

eh-LEE-sah

  • Origin Italian
  • Gender Girl
  • Syllables 3
  • Letters 5
  • Popularity Top 1000 (France)
  • Births on record 111,111

the United States

#458

2025 births

Elisa means my God is an oath, shortened from Elizabeth, and France ranks it 202nd — its strongest market, ahead of England and Wales at 377th, Ireland at 382nd and the United States at 458th.

  • Elisa is a name of Italian origin.
  • Peaked in France in 2003, when 2,285 babies were given the name.
  • It has been falling over the past decade in France.
  • Today about 1 in 2,033 babies in France is given this name.
  • First appears in birth records in 1900.
  • 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.

Elisa over time

Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.

18,875
'00 '10 '20 '30 '40 '50 '60 '70 '80 '90 '00 '10 '20
Show the numbers
Births named Elisa by decade in France
Decade Births
1900s 4,055
1910s 2,425
1920s 1,935
1930s 850
1940s 265
1950s 195
1960s 410
1970s 1,360
1980s 2,815
1990s 11,515
2000s 18,875
2010s 10,775
2020s (to 2025) 2,760

What Elisa means

Elisa means my God is an oath, carried from Elizabeth. The Hebrew joins the divine name to a word for swearing, so the name is a statement of binding commitment.

Where Elisa comes from

Elisa shortens Elizabeth, the Hebrew Elisheva — el, God, joined to sheva, an oath or seven, since swearing and the number seven share a root in Hebrew. Elisheva is Aaron's wife in Exodus, and Elizabeth is the mother of John the Baptist in Luke. The Italian and Spanish Elisa clipped the front and back off the full name, which is unusual: most short forms take one end or the other rather than the middle.

Elisa in use

Elisa peaked in France in 2003, when 2,285 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 202nd in France on 360 births — its strongest market — then 377th in England and Wales on 113, 382nd in Ireland on 10, 458th in the United States on 674 and 639th in Scotland on 4, across 111,111 lifetime births in six of the seven markets we track.

How popular is Elisa?

In 2025, Elisa was given to 290 babies in France, ranking #202 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.

Where Elisa is used

France #202 360 in 2025
Northern Ireland #362 4 in 2018
England & Wales #377 113 in 2025
Ireland #382 10 in 2025
United States #458 674 in 2025
Canada #578 50 in 2024
Scotland #639 4 in 2024

The bar shows how near the top of each country's list the name sits, on a scale where #1 fills the row and #1,000 is a sliver. The figures beside it are the real rank and the babies recorded that year.

French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.

How Elisa is spelled

Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.

Spelling What it is Births on record
Élisa Élisa is Elisa written with an acute accent, used in France, where it ranks #591. 2,040

Names that peaked alongside Elisa

These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.

Parents who like Elisa also like

Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Elisa over the last century — the same taste, a different name.

2 nicknames for Elisa

Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.

Every name with built-in nicknames →

Elisa in other languages

The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.

Greek
Eliza
Icelandic
Elisabet
Polish
Eliza
Russian
Alisa
Swedish
Eliza
Ukrainian
Alisa
Other forms
Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
Elissa Elysa Lisabeth

Sibling names for Elisa

Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Elisa — the two things that make a sibling set grate.

Common questions about Elisa

What does the name Elisa mean?

My God is an oath, carried from Elizabeth.

Why do oath and seven share a root?

In Hebrew they do — sheva covers both, and the connection runs through the practice of swearing by sevens.

Is Elisa the same as Eliza?

Both shorten Elizabeth; Elisa is the Italian and Spanish form, Eliza the English.

Where is Elisa most used?

France at 202nd, ahead of England, Ireland and the United States.

How popular is the name Elisa?

In 2025, Elisa was given to 290 babies in France, ranking #202 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.

Is Elisa a girl's or a boy's name?

Elisa is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.

How many syllables are in Elisa?

Elisa has 3 syllables.

When was Elisa most popular?

Elisa peaked in 2003, when 2,285 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.

What are the nicknames for Elisa?

Elisa is usually shortened to Eli and Lisa.

Is Elisa a good name?

That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Elisa currently ranks #202 in France. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.